Ninja Who Lived
by 88mph
Summary: Harry dies at the end of Deathly Hallows and is reborn as Naruto. Now Harry is on the case of uncovering all the secrets around Naruto and deal with his enemies. Find out how Konoha deals with the Master of Death Ninja-in-training.
1. Chapter 1

A.N. This is set around a year before Naruto graduates in manga canon verse.

Chapter 1.

Naruto was sulking and more than a little disappointed as he lay under the hot summer sun, he had failed the academy graduation exam a second time. He'd come to one of his favorite spots to daydream about becoming an 'awesome' ninja and going on adventures. He was lying on an awning of a house near the walls of the village, which let him see over the wall into the surrounding lands. He knew he wasn't allowed to leave the village and go exploring without a chaperon. Unfortunately, having no family or caretaker, that meant he could only leave when he was an adult himself or a ninja on a mission from the Hokage.

A scowl colored his face, tensing the whisker-like marks on his cheeks. He smashed a soft fist into the slats of the awning. "Why won't they pass me?" he shouted to the world. He sighed and sat up to stare out at the forest and the winding paths that led to the village gates. Fairly soon his favorite pass-time gripped him and visions of glory, war, and 'awesomeness' filled his mind.

Naruto was enjoying a particularly contrived daydream where the old Hokage was putting the hat of office of the Kage on his head when a commotion jerked him out of the illusion. Outside of the village walls he saw shapes flickering in the trees, and identified them a moment later as the elite shinobi, ANBU, pursuing another ninja. The chase brought the fleeing ninja into trees directly across from him. Naruto watched excitedly as the mask wearing ANBU closed on the position, but his excitement turned to horror when the fleeing ninja vaulted over the wall and landed on his awning. Naruto backpedaled on his hands and knees but the shinobi grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and placed a kunai against his throat.

"I'll kill the kid, step ba-" the escaping ninja didn't get to finish his threat as a ninjato pierced the side of his neck and skewered him. The cat mask wearing ANBU slid her sword out and Naruto, who had fallen on his behind released from the ninja's grasp, was showered in blood.

Naruto watched the blood spurt out from the hole in the man's neck in horrified fascination. The ninja's body fell to its knees and then slumped sideways. The small awning was surrounded by other members of ANBU but Naruto hardly noticed.

"G-ghost," he stammered. On the awning besides him and the cat masked ANBU was the transparent form of the man who had just been killed staring down at his own body.

The transparent man looked at him, his eyes the only thing visible on his masked face widened. "Master of Death! Spare me!" he screamed, bowing suddenly on his hands and knees. Before Naruto could respond the man's form began to disappear and he started howling at him to save him.

"Uzumaki-kun," the cat masked woman called Naruto, seeing his pale face. The blond boy was staring at something in fright and had seemingly forgotten to breathe. "It's alright, the man will not hurt you," she said, placing a hand on the small boy's shoulder.

The contact jolted Naruto out of his stupor and he nodded absently. "Who was he? Why'd he try to kill me?"

"An enemy of the village. He threatened you to stop us from capturing him. The fool didn't know that he signed his death warrant when he put you in danger," the cat masked woman answered.

"The Torture and Interrogation department will not be happy, Cat-san, they wanted him alive," a horse masked ANBU said as he gathered the body up with another comrade.

The cat masked ANBU did not deign to reply, choosing instead to pick up the boy bodily and leap away from the awning. She was surprised that the boy did not make a fuss but simply clutched to the front of her white cloak. She jumped roof from roof, deciding to take the boy home where he might get over his shock.

She set him on his feet when they reached his apartment building but held on to his hand to guide him up to his rooms. "Kitty-chan?" he said softly; the ninja ignored the nickname hearing the hesitance in the usually boisterous child's voice.

"Yes?" she encouraged, entering his unlocked apartment.

"Um, are ghosts real?" he asked, picking at his blood covered orange jacket.

The elite ninja frowned behind her mask. She walked to his kitchen to wet a towel, delaying for time to think. The child remained standing in the entrance of his apartment, too shocked to take any action on his own. She sighed mentally and kneeled in front of him to wipe off the blood on his face with the towel. "No, Uzumaki-kun, ghosts aren't real. You are training to be a ninja, right? You should be brave because a shinobi's life is filled with death. You should not fear it. It is simply how things are."

She helped him out of his jacket and motioned him to enter his own apartment and sit on the small couch. He seemed to be thinking hard on something and was not perturbed outwardly by the blood that still remained on him. The red of it stood out starkly on his bright blond hair.

"I saw something..." he trailed off as if he wanted to say more but thought better of it.

"Naruto..._Naruto!"_The cat masked woman forcibly shook the boy. He blinked at her as if he was just waking up and seeing her for the first time. "You should take a shower and get this blood off. I will take care of your clothes." She coaxed him toward the bathroom.

When she could hear the water running, she took the soiled clothes and started a wash. Then she went to the boy's closet where a handful of copies of his daily wear hung and grabbed a clean set. She smiled in amusement at the orange jacket and pants costume which the ANBU had stocked the closet with when Uzumaki Naruto had moved into this apartment his first time. Keeping a watch on the hyperactive tyke was made far easier by his bright wardrobe. With a wry smile she thought that after all it really hadn't been necessary to make Naruto easier to find; he was loud, brash, and making trouble every second he could. Following the trail of pranks was simple enough.

Her smile turned sour, however, when she thought back to why she was in the apartment. By terrible chance the ninja they were after had stumbled upon Naruto, and if it hadn't been for his clothes, she wouldn't have known from afar which child the man had taken hostage. As it was, the mere sight of the color had given her enough information to know she had no choice but to escalate the capture mission to an assassination mission. The Hokage would have little mercy for any ANBU who failed to protect Uzumaki. That is besides the danger of what was sealed inside the child escaping as he died.

A shudder went through her at the thought of the nine-tailed demon fox rampaging. Though lost in her thoughts she sensed a presence and her hand went to her sword. She watched the entrance and the window of the apartment warily before an ANBU landed on the terrace outside the window and she relaxed her stance in recognition. The other ANBU entered with a bag of food.

"Kid looked like he was in shock. Hard to believe anything could make the brat speechless. Thought I'd get his favorite food for him. A full stomach always makes me feel better, and the boy loves his ramen," the man said, placing the bag on the low table.

The cat masked woman nodded slowly. "Good idea... Anyone see Uzumaki at the scene?"

The man shrugged. "Too soon to tell. We weren't exactly being stealthy. I didn't notice any villagers at the site. Lucky the kid likes to hang out in out of the way places. No one was home at the time, but we'll have to explain to the owner why there's blood on his awning." His head snapped to the bathroom. "Sounds like he's done. I'm out. Just feed him and put him to bed."

"Do I look like his mother?" the woman demanded, annoyed at the casual order.

The man laughed. "Put the claws away, Kitty-chan."

He jumped away before she could retort. She had a feeling that the nickname Naruto had just given her was going to become widespread. Unlike Naruto, however, she could hurt her teammates for their disrespect.

"Ramen!" the boy exclaimed, apparently catching a whiff of the food. The light in his eyes which had dimmed came dazzling back. He sat himself down in front of the bowl only in his towel and dug in.

The woman smiled in half exasperation half amusement behind her mask. "Naruto, go straight to bed after eating."

He nodded absently, being too busy slurping down the food. The woman shrugged and slipped out of the window to jump off the terrace. She had to report what had happened after all.

"Kitty-chan!" Naruto yelled for her.

She looked over her shoulder and cocked her head to the side to signal she was listening.

"Thanks for saving my life! I'm going to be an ass kicking ninja just like you, see I already have whiskers like you!" He pointed happily to the whisker-like marks on his cheeks and grinned cheekily at her.

"Ah," she said seriously. "So you've discovered the secret to my powers. With the magic of those whiskers you will be Hokage in no time."

He thrust his chest out in pride and shouted, "Believe it!"

With a quiet chuckle the woman sent chakra to her legs and in a powerful leap bounded away.

(scene break)

Although the cat masked ANBU's ministrations and the food had gone a long way to settle Naruto, he couldn't shake the weird feeling that had settled over him. He felt disconnected, as if his body was someone else's. The words 'master of death' rang in his head, pulling at some forgotten memory. It made him feel strange and oddly sad. He thought about the ghost and wondered why he'd seen it if no ghosts existed. With these thoughts he no longer remembered that he had failed the graduation test that day and that his dreams had been put on hold for another whole year.

Feeling strange still he fell asleep and dreamt of people and powers he had never seen or heard of before.

(scene break)

Naruto had been tossing and turning, feeling the tumultuous emotions of the boy in his dreams. A dark haired boy was holding out a stick shooting red light at a man with snake-like face, amid ruins. The red light pushed back the green light streaming of out the snake man's stick. The red light finally connected with him, tearing the stick in his hand and throwing it back at the boy. The boy reached with his other hand and caught the snake's man's stick. A triumphant smile graced his tense features before his expression changed to horror. The snake man exploded destroying everything around him including the boy.

Naruto woke up with a start and sat up in his futon breathing heavily. He was drenched in sweat. The weird disconnected feeling from the last day came over him and didn't leave him. Vertigo hit and he leaned over to throw up on the floor of his bedroom. Another disconcerting sensation gripped him like something was crawling beneath his skin and he jerked back, slamming himself against the wall on accident. He blacked out from the impact.

When the boy woke next he gasped in surprise at his surroundings. The last thing he remembered he had been dueling Lord Voldemort in Hogwarts. He thought furiously, trying to remember everything, despite how dizzy he felt. He had killed the Dark Lord...he was sure of it. He had disarmed him and as soon as he'd caught the Elder Wand, Voldemort exploded - the heat, the force waves, and his own skin peeling at the magic unleashed, burning...yes, he remembered burning - and, dying. Yes, he had died. Harry was sure he must have died. He had been too near Voldemort.

The rank smell of vomit assaulted his nose and pulled him away from his thoughts. He looked around the room, for a short time not recognizing it, until a stream of memories broke into his mind and he screamed in sheer agony. And, once again, the boy lost consciousness.

(scene break)

It was a day and night later that he woke up with nearly a decade of memories of a boy named Uzumaki Naruto and a village hidden in the leaves. Harry Potter sat up in a panic. He stumbled out of the futon and dragged himself to the restroom he remembered from Naruto's memories. Relieving himself and washing his mouth of the taste of vomit, he stared at the reflection looking back at him.

A tanned face with the brightest yellow blond hair he had ever seen and suspicious blue eyes looked back at him. He worked his jaw; making faces at himself in the mirror to prove to himself he really was some blond haired, blue eyed little kid. It didn't feel different than being under the effects of a Polyjuice potion. There was no trouble or knowing where his extremities were.

"Hello?" he said to himself, testing if his voice had also changed. "My name is Harry." He frowned at the mirror recognizing the voice of the child from his memories. "Something is very, very wrong here. What the bloody hell is going on?"

Shaking his head as if it would dispel the situation, Harry took off the smelly clothes and stepped under the shower. Everything was so small, he noted in mild curiosity. He really was in a titchy little body. As he washed himself something grabbed his attention under the soap suds on his hands. He washed away the soap to stare in shock at the palms of his hands. In very faint but defined way there were lines on his palms making a triangle with a circle and a line inside it. It looked like the symbol of the Deathly Hallows was simply a natural birthmark.

"Curious...very curious," Harry mumbled to himself.

He dried himself quickly so he could explore the Hallow marks more. The shower had gone a long way to clear the cobwebs in his head and he was able to keep the oppressive pressure of memories, he had no recollection of, at bay. Clothes had been laid out already on the arm of a small couch in the living room. He dressed himself in the unfamiliar yet familiar gear of black T shirt and boxers under a pair of orange pants of very durable material. He left the orange colored jacket of the same material off, imagining it would be really hot.

His stomach complained of hunger but he ignored it in favor of tracing the mark on one of his palms. "Damn it, wish Professor Dumbledore were here to explain what is going on." The words were just out of his mouth when a figure appeared in the living room. With his mouth open, Harry stared at Albus Dumbledore in his fill professorial glory looking at the room and him in open suspicion.

"Who are you young man, and how is it that you have the power of the Master of Death?" Professor Dumbledore demanded.

Harry continued to gawk at the semitransparent form of the man for a long moment. "Professor, it's me. It's Harry!" He shot to his feet, beside himself in joy that he had somehow the power of the resurrection stone to call the dead.

Professor Dumbledore speared him with an unamused look over his half-moon glasses. "Young man, do not play games with me, you look nothing like-" he paused for a moment as if a thought had struck him. "Harry, if it is really you, where did we meet the last time?"

Harry smiled in relief. "I think it was inside my mind, sir. We were in a...sort of version of King's Cross. You told me about my choices to either move on or go back. I went back."

The old wizard's expression went through quick changes that Harry couldn't quite follow. He watched him raise a ghostly wand and tap his spectacles. A shimmer of light passed over the lenses as the man studied him through them. "Dear Merlin, it is you!" he finally gasped out and a huge smile broke over his face. "My boy, where have you been? Why didn't you contact us sooner? We have been searching for you for near a decade. Your soul disappeared after your last duel with Voldemort."

"It did?" Harry blurted. "I don't know what happened, professor. The last thing I remember is Voldemort blowing up and burning...and then I think I died."

"You most certainly did," Dumbledore said, more to himself than Harry. "We should have thought of this possibility. I should have known this could happen."

"What? What happened? I have no idea what's going on!" Harry implored.

Dumbledore sighed and ran his hand through his beard as he was wont to do in life as well. "Harry, you were reincarnated. And if my guess is correct, you were reincarnated as soon as you died, sent into this realm of existence. It is not without precedence, but usually there is a reason for a soul to be reborn."

"So...I'm not just possessing this boy's body...I'm-" Harry snorted in disbelief. "I'm him? Or he's me...I mean...you know?"

"Yes, yes," Dumbledore nodded. "You were simply born again, this time as this boy. But what is truly fascinating is that as soon as I was called I instinctively knew I was being summoned by the Master of Death. How extraordinary! I always thought that title was just that, a title, but it seems there is true authority in that mantle."

Harry frowned, not liking this revelation particularly. "What do you mean, Professor? What does it mean for me? And shouldn't I have gotten to choose if I wanted to be resurrected? I mean, if I died I'd much rather be with my family for the first time in my life...or death...or whatever it is."

"Life after death," Professor Dumbledore corrected gently. "I understand this is frustrating, Harry, but we are all subject to the cosmic powers of existence. I do not know why this happened, but I suspect it is because all the Hallows accepted you as their master. I am beginning to fear that you may have been granted power beyond the ken of men."

"Professor?" Harry rolled his eyes, beseeching him to be clearer simply with his aggravated body language.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I don't know, Harry. It is just the beginning of a suspicion. If you truly are master of death in some sense, then your power would be that much greater beyond the veil as it were. Perhaps, by throwing you in a cycle of rebirth you are being kept from exercising the scope of your authority."

Harry blinked slowly as anger filled him. "You're saying someone is responsible for this? That this is just a power play?"

"Harry," Dumbledore began in a calming tone. "I do not know anything for certain. I would not have even shared my suspicions with you, except that apparently I cannot refuse a command from you, be it implied or overt."

"You have to do as I say?" Harry asked in confusion. "That's...strange."

"Indeed, but now you can see why your power might be a threat to the order beyond the veil." The old wizard suddenly laughed. "Never a dull moment around you, my boy. Now if I may suggest something, summon your mother and father. They have been distraught and haven't been able to live without knowing what has happened to you. Give me some time to seek them out to explain what has happened. It is probably best we keep your...reawakening under wraps as much as possible."

Harry nodded slowly in consideration. "In case there really is someone out to get me on your side of the veil, then they would be watching my loved ones."

Dumbledore had an expression of pride on his face. "Yes, exactly. Now, tell me, how have you been?"

Harry slumped back on the couch and Dumbledore conjured a ghostly chair for himself. "I don't know...exactly," Harry began. "I haven't been aware of my previous live, really, until I think a few days ago. I saw a man killed in front of me, his ghost appeared to me and called me Master of Death. That triggered something inside my...new self...I guess that's what I'd call him. He had nightmares and-"

"Who had nightmares?" Professor Dumbledore asked, his eyes shining with interest.

"Ah, my new self, his name is Uzumaki Naruto...weird name. He...or I suppose he's me, so I had nightmares from my final battle with Voldemort. And that seems to have reawakened me."

"Hmm, yes, I suppose that makes sense," Dumbledore mused, looking heavenward in thought. "That was the moment you reclaimed the wand, the last of the Hallows. It is a significant moment of your life. I must say it is strange to see you in the form of a blond, blue eyed child."

Harry laughed softly. "That's not even the half of it, this kid, he's really odd. I'm still looking at all his memories. It's almost driven me crazy. It feels as if it is someone else's mind, yet it feels familiar. I think I haven't done anything he has, but I can almost taste everything he's eaten, everything he has touched, every moment of happiness and lots and lots of moments of loneliness. I don't think he's a very happy kid, professor."

Dumbledore frowned and asked, "Family?"

Harry rolled his eyes up dredging up memories. "He's...alone. Orphan. At least that's what he's been told. Doesn't know who his parents were or are."

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "I would have wished you had known a mother and a father if you had to be reborn."

Harry waved the concern away. "I think that would make this situation even more difficult to handle."

"Yes, perhaps. You think of only Lily and James as your parents. It would be bizarre to say the least to have another set. I sense a little suspicion in you about the truth of what he knows about the status of his parents." Dumbledore left the statement, simply implying the question.

"I don't know...there are oddities about his life. He...or I should say 'I' have been living on my own from a very young age, but I also have these elite soldiers watching out for me. Before my awakening I didn't think much of them, I didn't think their presence had anything to do with me. I thought they were simply there, guarding this village. But - there are far too many small clues that don't add up. They know me, even though they don't meet with me directly. Why would they know a random orphan living by himself?" Harry shrugged in confusion.

"To my knowledge, Harry, resurrected souls are placed in a new realm because of their particular strength. After moving beyond the veil, some of these intricacies have been revealed to me as I have taken an interest. Perhaps there is something to this Uzumaki that hasn't been revealed to him, or perhaps, he simply did not have your eyes to see the clues." Dumbledore smiled. "It seems, Harry, that your life will always been an adventure."

"No kidding, professor. You'll love this part. My new self is learning to be a ninja. This village is a ninja village. And I call their head, the supposed most powerful ninja in this nation, grandfather or old man." Harry laughed at the ridiculousness.

Dumbledore did not share in the humor. "Assassins?" He frowned. "What in Merlin's name are you doing here? Is this head assassin truly your grandfather?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't get that feeling. I'd be living with him otherwise, I expect. He's the only one who has been kind to me is what I can tell you from the memories I've been able to absorb. This boy, Uzumaki, is not very well liked. Why? I don't know."

"This is quite disturbing; I don't see you as an assassin. You have killed when necessary or by accident, but this is not you." Dumbledore frowned.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, professor, they aren't like ninjas I've ever known about. Of course, I only know about ninja from sneaking Dudley's video games and playing Mortal Kombat."

"Well, video games can hardly be an accurate source of information, but I cannot say mine are any better. How are they different?" Dumbledore leaned forward in his ghostly chair.

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. "Trying to process these memories and judgments Uzumaki made. It's very hard...hard to think. Sorry, professor, give me some time."

Dumbledore nodded and lost himself in thought for a moment. "I am concerned about your observations, Harry. If you truly are under guard and the head of these ninja is also someone who is looking out for you, while leaving you to raise yourself, then I have to agree there may be something about young Uzumaki that you do not know."

Harry nodded. "Sort of like my first life, eh, professor?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Indeed. But with us both having learned from that experience, I think your first order of business is to gather intelligence. You cannot rely on the memories and impressions of a child. You must bring your own experience to bear on this. Also, as we know now, a summoned soul is in all senses your servant. Take advantage of that. A source of knowledge who cannot betray the secret that you are a reborn soul would be priceless."

Harry breathed in relief. "Thank you, professor. I was feeling very lost. Now I can do something about it. Who do you think I should summon?"

Dumbledore gave a very uncharacteristic shrug. "I am afraid I have no knowledge of this realm of existence, Harry. I say go out, look at history books, find out the names of both important people and those whose names you can simply find in the local cemetery. If you speak to both those who were in high places and those in low places in life, you will be able to form a better picture of where you are."

"That makes sense." Harry grinned. "And what do I do about this ninja business?"

Dumbledore raised a brow and smiled. "Use the lessons you learned playing Dudley's video games, I suppose."

Harry laughed. "Guess I can't expect you to figure out everything."

"Speaking of figuring things out," Dumbledore motioned to Harry's hands. "I see the mark of the Hallows. I suggest you explore your powers. You have used the resurrection stone's abilities, the death stick and the invisibility cloak remain."

"Thank Merlin! That means I can probably still do magic. Alright, professor, I will work on my end. Would you please speak to mum and dad, and find out why I was resurrected?"

"Of course, my dear boy. Even if I wasn't compelled to help you, I would do so. Good bye." The aged wizard faded from sight and Harry was left alone with an empty stomach and a mind full of questions.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Harry's head ached as more and more of his newer self's memories invaded his mind. "Gah, when will they just feel like my own memories?" he cursed, sitting out on the terrace. The worst problem was making sense of the feelings and impressions associated with people and places in those memories. Naruto's outlook was simply not the same as Harry's. There was an innocence and almost boundless enthusiasm that Harry was pressed hard to remember ever feeling. Naruto felt alone and cast out but was determined to make the whole village see him. Harry knew how at least part of that felt: In his younger years he'd been at the mercy of his relatives and suffered the ill will of his neighbors. But where that had made him quiet, Naruto had become loud. Harry laughed to himself thinking if he had lived his life over, knowing what he did now, he wouldn't have been the quiet little boy, shying away from everyone. He probably would be just like Naruto, punishing the bastards for ignoring him. Unlike Naruto, Harry had no expectations of acceptance from people. He'd been made the lauded hero, the maligned demagogue, and everything in between by people. He knew better than to look for acceptance of the masses.

Still, there was something of Naruto's enthusiasm for life that was trickling into him. He found himself grinning at nothing and everything, and wanting to come up with some crazy prank that would rile up the village. "Maybe I'm channeling Fred and George," Harry said to himself.

A man landed on his terrace without so much as a 'by your leave.' Harry jumped to his feet and a moment later his memories assaulted him with everything associated with that man. "Iruka-sensei!" he blurted out, then grabbed his head in his hands, shutting his eyes against the pain.

"Naruto, what's wrong. You're not feeling well?" the man asked putting a hand on his shoulder.

Harry shook his head. "Nah, it's alright, I just got up too fast, gave me a headache," he said in Naruto's lackadaisical style. He sat back down and watched the man take a seat as well. He was fairly young, maybe in his early twenties, black hair tied back in a rough ponytail, his most distinctive feature being a scar running cheek to cheek over his nose. "What're you doing here, sensei?"

"I came to check up on you. I heard what happened..." Iruka trailed off, watching him carefully.

Harry nodded; it wasn't surprising Iruka would worry about him. As far as he could remember Iruka was the only teacher at the academy who had taken an interest in him. The young man even treated him to dinner at times. Naruto had a fierce affection for the man, and Harry felt the same. Having someone care for him when no one else would, had always engendered deep loyalty in him, and Naruto, of course, wasn't any different. Unfortunately, Harry had stayed quiet too long in his musings, something which was very unlike Naruto.

"Hey, you okay?" Iruka prompted him.

Harry smiled softly, figuring if he acted a little off it might be forgiven, seeing as someone had tried to kill him recently. "Yeah, sensei, don't worry. Just been thinking. You know?"

"Ehhh?" the young man said in surprise and smirked. "Uzumaki Naruto is thinking? I must still be asleep in bed at home and dreaming."

"Hey!" Harry pointed at the man. "That's rude!"

Iruka began laughing, apparently finding Harry's loud response to be normal. Inside Harry was shocked at his instinct to yell at the man. After all Iruka sensei was his teacher and some respect should be extended, even if the man was making fun of him. But seeing him laugh, Harry couldn't help but smile himself; yeah, Naruto wasn't your average kid. He was pretty lucky to have a guy like Iruka.

"So, what were you thinking about?" Iruka asked, looking at him intently.

Harry looked away and thought quickly, apparently Iruka was sharp enough to see any personality changes Naruto might have, but he was also expecting Naruto to be different after the incident. Harry thought to capitalize on it. "Hey, Iruka-sensei, being a shinobi is pretty hard, yeah?"

Iruka sighed and nodded. "Yes, it is. That's why I keep telling you that you have to work harder. If you would just _focus_." It sounded like an oft repeated speech, and Harry's memories proved that Naruto had been at the receiving end of this lecture from Iruka many, many times.

"It was pretty scary...the other day. If it wasn't for the ANBU, I'd be dead," Harry said, keeping his tone deliberately pensive. While Naruto hadn't ever been in a life or death situation, Harry had been in many, and by his standards other than the shower of blood, it wasn't too bad. From the corner of his eye he noticed Iruka watching him seriously with a sad expression which the man quickly hid.

"It can be scary, but if you train hard and work well with your team, you can do anything. Remember, Naruto, we have to keep the will of fire alive, and that's a dangerous job but an important one," Iruka said, smiling in encouragement.

"You know, I never understood that will of fire business...I just want to kick ass," Harry said, in approximation of how his newer self might have responded to something like that.

"Idiot!" Iruka's hit him up the head in reprimand. "You never change, do you, Naruto?"

Harry grinned at him after rubbing his head. "Serious stuff bores me, sensei."

Iruka sighed in a very put upon fashion. "Think of it this way, I'm your teacher and I will protect you with my life, that's the will of fire: To fight for the ones you love, to protect the village."

Harry frowned at hearing that and his mind slipped away from keeping up the pretense of being just happy-go-lucky Naruto. Iruka's personal philosophy didn't sound like an assassin's.

"You're thinking again, Naruto," Iruka teased.

Harry chuckled softly but couldn't bring himself to lighten the mood really. "Hey, Iruka-sensei, you never looked at me with cold eyes like the rest of the village and all the other teachers." He turned his head so he could meet the young man's eyes. "Thank you."

The young man looked gob smacked for a second before he blushed. He looked away and rubbed the bridge of his nose in a mannerism Harry knew from his memories was something the teacher did when he was a little embarrassed. "Hey, now, stop acting so mature, brat. C'mon, I'll treat you to ramen," he said.

"Ramen!" Harry shouted in glee and tackled the teacher to hug him. It amazed him how much Naruto got away with. Iruka wasn't surprised at the hug and acted as if he was suffering before peeling Harry off.

"Damn, maybe I want you to be more mature. I think you broke my ribs," Iruka groused good-naturedly, walking ahead of Harry.

Harry grabbed the orange jacket and put on the blue sandals by the door of his apartment. Thinking he had laid the groundwork for his personality change, he declared, "Sensei, just you watch, this year I'm going to be the top ninja in class. I'll make you proud!"

Iruka shrugged. "That's what you say every year, Naruto."

"Well this is the first time someone tried to kill me, alright?" Harry snapped. It was vital the man take him seriously. Dumbledore's advice meant the difference between survival or not; he had to get as much knowledge as he could, and Iruka was the doorway to that. If the teacher thought Naruto's new studiousness was unexplainable it would cause problems.

Iruka was stunned and stared at him in consternation. "Don't worry, kid, we will protect you, you know."

Harry nodded, pretending to have gotten over his burst of anger. "I know, sensei, but I understand now what you said all those times...I have to do better at the academy if I have to protect myself."

Iruka grinned wolfishly. "You really mean that? Are you willing to give your word on it?"

Harry knew he had to channel his less restrained self now. He thrust his chest out and stabbed his thumb back at himself. "I never go back on my word. That's my nindo. Believe it!"

Iruka laughed and messed Harry's hair. "You silly little fool. You're mine now. I am going to make you do every homework assignment you didn't turn in the last four years and every test you failed." Chuckling somewhat maniacally the man descended the stairs.

Harry was momentarily frozen in the stairwell. "Bloody hell, these ninjas are weird. Even the nice ones are mental."

The performance at the ramen stand was successful, Harry mused to himself. Iruka seemed to take heart from the fact that Harry had put away seven bowls of the noodle soup, while Harry had wondered if his body was a bottomless bag. Feeling much better and focused after being so well fed, Harry happily followed Iruka to the academy. Naruto's knowledge reminded him that the academy was closed for a week after the final exams, so he expected to meet his new class in a week's time.

The Academy was a collection of fairly large buildings with red domes. Harry knew that part of the Academy was the Missions Office where shinobi presented themselves for assignments, and the Hokage offices were part of the complex as well. In essence the Academy was the heart of the village.

As Harry walked into the Academy gates thinking about it being a landmark of the village, Naruto's memories threw up an image of another landmark, the cliff wall where faces of past and present Hokages were carved. He laughed to himself, he should have thought of that before, and resolved to summon a Hokage or two when he was free from Iruka.

Iruka led him to the teacher's lounge, which was empty during the break. Iruka's desk was piled with papers and drawers hung out with folders upon folders. Iruka made a production of taking out a particularly thick folder with Uzumaki Naruto written on it and dropped it with a bang on his desk.

"Let's see...ah, I'd better separate the notices of misbehavior and absences." Iruka grabbed a thick wad of sheets from the folder and put them aside, leaving behind a much thinner file. Harry grinned sheepishly when Iruka glared at him for evidence of his causing Hell. Iruka looked over the papers in his hand and started reading them out, "Bottom of the class in mathematics, science, history, and language arts, and chakra control, impressive record in tactics and trap setting, poor in illusion arts, poor to passable in ninjutsu, good in taijutsu, but we both know you do whatever you want in that class, very good at projectile weapons, poor in strategy, great in stealth." Iruka sighed and looked at him seriously, "You know what this shows me?"

"That I suck?" Harry asked with a scowl; he knew Naruto was just a little kid, but for all his boasting of wanting to be a great ninja he didn't seem to care.

Iruka shook his head patiently. "No, Naruto, it shows me that you can be good in anything you're interested in. You love your pranks and it shows in your stealth, tactics, and trap setting skills. You want to be a close range fighter and it shows in your enthusiasm in taijutsu, even though you need more guidance. But a Hokage needs to be good at everything."

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei, I'm already sold. Just tell me what to do. By the end of the year I will be top in everything," Harry said with quiet determination.

Iruka arched a brow in question. "In some of these classes you are going to be making up years' worth of gaps in your knowledge and skills, Naruto. I don't want you to give up if you can't reach your goal. Just remember: progress and improvement is more important than class positions, ok?"

Harry simply nodded. He wanted the counseling session to end so he could get his hands on those history books piled on shelves in the teacher's lounge. Iruka followed Harry's eyes and saw where he was looking. "Ah," he said. "The bane of your existence: Books."

Harry grinned. "I'm not that bad, am I?" Iruka gave him a flat look in response. "Whatever," Harry groused as Naruto would have.

Iruka stood up and pulled out a scroll from his cluttered drawers. He walked over to the shelf and opened the scroll to lay it flat on a surface. Harry watched the writing on the scroll curiously, pulling the words 'sealing scroll' from memory. From what he could remember of his new life, some ninja used these scrolls as storage. Harry was excited to see the magic, because what else could be but magic to store weapons in a scroll and summon them whenever you needed. To his pleasant surprise Iruka started sealing stacks of books in the storage seal.

As the young man worked, Harry pondered his situation. He wasn't looking forward to burying himself in readings, having always been someone who learned by doing. But as it stood, he had no Hermione to do the tiresome research for him and summarize everything. Of course, Iruka was right about both his old and new personality, as long as it was something that he was interested he could be as well read as Hermione. After all, he was ahead by years of his peers when it came to Defense Against the Dark Arts knowledge, regardless of theory or practical. He wasn't sure if all this school learning was the fastest way to learn how to survive in this new world.

He didn't realize how long he'd been lost in thought, because Iruka had apparently gone back to his desk and had written out a plan for him. The young man handed the storage scroll and the study plan to him. "This is very ambitious, Naruto, but I saw something in your eyes back at your apartment when you vowed you wanted to do your best, which told me that you might just be able to do this. Now, get, I will see you in a week. You better be a changed man," Iruka admonished without any heat, if the fond smile on his face was anything to go by.

"Thanks, sensei," Harry said, waving his hand in a carefree manner and left.

The day was still young so Harry decided to visit one of Naruto's favorite spots, the Hokage monument. The kid was wont to sitting on top of the fourth Hokage's head and while away the day. Without really thinking about it, Harry fixed the image of the place in his mind and disapparated. With a jerk he arrived right on top of the monument and let out a yell of joy.

"Yes! I can still apparate! Wait, can ninja apparate?" he asked himself and dug into his memories. The answer came much quicker and clearer that while they could move at incredible speeds at times, something like teleportation was beyond them. With the exception of the man whose monument he was standing on.

Coming down from his excitement, Harry sat down in a careful position as Naruto had been taught for meditation on his chakra. Harry used the same principles and his occlumency training to begin asking himself the many questions he had about the village, Naruto's life, and ninja. After all, he thought to himself, best to go right to the source, instead of books.

As before when Harry explored his memories he lost track of time and any sense of his surroundings. His mind conjured his journey into reminiscence like the experience of dipping into a pensieve. With sharp clarity he saw and felt everything, allowing the merging that he had been keeping at bay from fear of losing himself. Once the merging had completed, Harry slipped into the calming experience of meditating on his chakra. He knew now from his memories that Naruto hadn't been as touch with his spiritual and physical strength as Harry was. He imagined his years of training in magic and pulling out power from inside shadowed Naruto's own efforts, but with both of his selves combined it was a far more enriching exercise.

Sinking into the feeling of this power, chakra, Harry rode it as it coursed through the network in his body it had carved. He never imagined one could be so aware of his own body or the potential it held. Where Naruto had lacked maturity and focus in his meditation, he did have a natural instinct for sensing chakra. Harry smiled to himself; instinctual knowledge had been his strongest point. The more he judged that Naruto and he were different, the more he learned that they were similar. It would take him some time to fully accept that they were one and the same person.

It was this moment of confusion when he felt a pressure on his mind, similar to a legilimens attack. Harry gathered his will to close himself off or attack with his owl legilimens curse when a voice echoed in his mind, "My lord Master of Death, I am of your clan, and I request an audience."

A cold feeling swept through Harry, he didn't realize the dead could seek him out, for he knew without a doubt that the woman seeking entrance to his mind was a spirit. He cursed himself for not looking into his powers, but at least he was learning by instinct. Just as he had known the woman calling to him was a spirit, he knew she wasn't lying to him.

"Permission granted," Harry called out in his mind.

At once he found himself in a mind scape as he had when he had met Dumbledore once in the ghostly King's Cross station. They were atop the Hokage monument, but the surroundings had taken on a pale, ethereal glow. A woman in a beautiful kimono sat in the seiza position in front of him, the same position he found himself in. She had streaming red hair and diamond shaped mark on her forehead.

She bowed to him. "My lord, I am Uzumaki Mito, one of your ancestors, and wife to the first Hokage."

"Please rise, you are my elder, Mito-dono," Harry said, utilizing a respectful honorific for the woman who he had learned from his new self's memories was a very respected member of the village in her time.

She straightened and met his eyes confidently with a small smile. "It is good to see humility in one of the last of my clan. As you were just a few days ago this conversation would have been very difficult to have with you."

"Thank you, grandmother," Harry said with a wry smile.

"Cha," the woman exclaimed in mock exasperation, "Perhaps I spoke too soon. I am not of your direct blood line, my lord."

Harry nodded. "Why are you here?"

Her very red lips which had been quirked in a teasing smile turned to a frown. "You came close to death recently and I was drawn to you as you would be the last of my legacy to cross over. When you remembered yourself and awakened your authority as Master of Death, I wished to speak with you immediately, but until a few moments ago you had not accepted yourself as an Uzumaki, and I could not be sure if you would honor your family if I made contact."

"And now you have made contact, Mito-dono, for which I am very pleased. So why, again, did you wish to speak with me?" Harry asked.

The woman seemed to hesitate a moment. "Even though you are not of my direct bloodline, you are my legacy, my lord, and you have not been prepared for the responsibility."

Harry frowned at her. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

The woman's lips quirked in a smile. "No one ever does...You are the vessel keeping the nine-tailed demon fox imprisoned, my lord, just as I did in life, just as your mother did in life."

Harry could do nothing but stare in disbelief at the woman in his mindscape as she gave an apologetic shrug.


	3. Chapter 3

A.N. Thanks for all the reviews. Glad you all liked the basic premise. I took the advice in the reviews and changed the summary and also showed that Naruto's personality quirks are still present. Also, in case it wasn't clear, this is set around one year before manga verse graduation.

**Chapter 3**

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a tired man of many years who no longer found rest in sleep. Most shinobi did not live to be his age, and none had led one of the most powerful ninja villages in the world as long as he had. For all the honor of those two distinctions, he dearly wished he could get a single good night's sleep.

So it was well before dawn that the man found himself awake and pondering the many issues that plagued him as the Hokage. Candles burned low in his office, casting yellow light on dusty scrolls and maps of Fire country and beyond. Sarutobi's early quiet morning was disturbed when a mechanical bird flew through his tower's window to alight on his desk, almost toppling his pipe. The old man frowned; expecting that a message at that hour could only be about trouble. He took the tiny scroll from the bird and read the coded message from one of his ANBU: 

Agent Orange has been meditating on top the Hokage Monument for past eighteen hours. He has been outputting chakra waves of fluctuating strength. At the time of this report the chakra has become visible. All attempts to bring Agent Orange out of meditative coma have failed. Suspect subject is agitated as chakra output is becoming volatile. Please advise. - Cat.

The Hokage stood from his desk and went to his window throwing it open to look upon the monument which was clearly visible from his office. Indeed, on top of the Fourth Hokage's head he could see a speck of light that seemed to be pulsing. In the late hours of night it was more visible than it would have been during day. Sarutobi used the body flicker technique to make his way atop the monument faster than the eye of any average ninja to follow. Arriving, he noticed that several ANBU had formed a loose cordon around the monument, keeping any curious night owls from finding out exactly who was emitting the chakra light. It was, after all, not normal for chakra to be visible unless employed by very powerful ninjas using equally powerful techniques. One of his ANBU nodded to him as he passed the cordon and Cat soon joined him.

"Hokage-sama." She gave a short bow. "Forgive me for disturbing your rest, but I thought you would want to manage this situation yourself."

Sarutobi nodded, his robes whispering around his ankles, as he walked quickly to Naruto. "You made the right call, Cat. You have been with him all day?" he asked.

"I took over his watch yesterday when the ANBU tailing him lost him in the afternoon...he is new to this detail and doesn't know Uzumaki's usual haunts. I was able to find him within minutes," she explained.

Sarutobi chuckled as he came to a stop some ways behind Naruto. "Perhaps we should require special training for ANBU when they are assigned watch duty. Naruto does have a penchant for keeping his guardians on their toes."

The cat masked ANBU shrugged. "No lesson is learned better than it is in battle."

"Now, Cat," Sarutobi admonished lightly. "Watching Naruto is hardly akin to battle." He did not hear the woman grumbling as he left her behind to go sit next to Naruto.

The boy was sitting in the proper stance for chakra meditation, with his hands and fingers locked in Ram seal. Around him a blue glow pulsed and receded to an indiscernible rhythm. It was raw chakra and while it was impressive that the boy had enough of it to be visible, the fact that it was fluctuating showed that whatever Naruto was meditating on was troubling him.

"I shook him and even shouted at him but he did not wake. I was hesitant to use more force," Cat reported, standing behind the Hokage.

Sarutobi hummed to himself in thought. "Iruka reported that the encounter with the enemy ninja you executed had frightened him, and that he was hungering to improve his skills. I wonder if his weakness in that moment is still bothering him."

"I have never seen him sit still so long, such a deep meditative state is..." she trailed off.

"Unusual in someone so young," Sarutobi finished for her. "Well, I'm afraid we cannot let it continue like this. Before long people in the village will be awake and it will be much harder to hide Naruto's chakra release."

The old man stood up and formed seals with his hands, when he was finished his palms glowed with a faint white light and he set them upon Naruto's back. He looked over his shoulder at Cat. "Remind me to teach this technique to you so you can pass it on to anyone on watch duty. This will siphon off his chakra at a dramatic rate. It should break his concentration without the risk of chakra going wild, as you would be absorbing it."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Cat said.

And just as her leader had said, the chakra light around Naruto dimmed and what had been a peaceful expression on his face gave way to a frown. Slowly his eyes fluttered open and he released his hands from the seal. He looked over his shoulder, eyes flashing with annoyance. "Hey, gramps, why'd you break my concentration? Don't you know it's rude to disturb someone who is meditating?"

The Hokage chuckled even as Cat stopped herself from reprimanding the boy for speaking to the Sandaime so disrespectfully. The old man didn't seem to mind the boy's tone, however. He reached over and ruffled the boy's hair, earning himself another scowl. "Now, now, Naruto, you have been up here alone almost all night. What if a bear came out and ate you?"

"Yeah, right!" Naruto scoffed. "No bear can get past Kitty-chan."

Cat sighed inside, knowing that even more of the ANBU would become aware of her new nick name.

"Kitty-chan?" The Sandaime repeated with amusement.

Naruto nodded seriously. "Kitty-chan is the most kick ass kunoichi of Konoha. I'm going to be just like her," he seemed to pause in thought, "Even though I don't have her freakish strength and her long gorilla like arms – you know, she picked me up and ran to my home without stopping once? Guess I need her thick toad thighs to jump from roof to roof like her. Her lungs are probably big as a horse's; she wasn't even out of breath! It's odd though, because her breasts aren't huge-" Whatever else he was going to say was muffled behind the Sandaime's hand.

"Ah, Naruto, I think it's best I take you home, before 'Kitty-chan' loses her temper," The Hokage said, and picking up the boy body flickered away.

Cat's shoulders were slumped hearing about her 'gorilla arms,' 'toad thighs,' and apparently breasts that hadn't impressed Uzumaki. "The breast plate flattens them – it's not a fair judgment," she muttered to herself.

"Don't worry, Cat-san, I think you're the very model of feminine grace and beauty," one of her subordinates said.

"Just shut up, Hippo," she snapped.

"Yes, captain," the man ducked his head. How dare that brat compare Cat-san's perfectly shapely thighs to a toad? He fumed to himself.

(scene break)

The Sandaime chose not to body flicker all the way to Naruto's apartment. The village was quiet and peaceful at this time of the night, and he wanted to both enjoy a walk and speak to Naruto. The boy next to him was fairly subdued regardless of how exuberant he had been atop the monument.

"So Naruto, were you just meditating on your chakra? You were at it for a very long time," he began, carefully watching the boy's expression.

The child nodded putting his hands behind his head casually. "Mhm, Iruka-sensei says the only reason I am bad at school stuff is because I don't like it. So I told myself I love meditating! I won't fail my chakra control classes anymore."

The Sandaime laughed, amused by the enthusiasm and how true Iruka's analysis had turned out to be. Naruto simply needed to focus. "Well, I can tell that you will do very well, Naruto."

"I'm going to be just like Kick ass Kitty-chan! She saved my life!" He punched the air. His expression faltered suddenly. "But…"

"What is it?" the old ninja asked gently.

"Kitty-chan and enemy ninja are so big. Even if I get better at school, they would still beat me. I'm a close range fighter but what would it matter if my fists and kicks can't even reach the enemy?" The boy looked to him with those expressive blue eyes.

The Sandaime didn't voice his amusement at the boy thinking of himself as already a close range specialist. He put on an act of thinking deeply. "Well, Naruto, close range is not the only way to fight enemies, is it? You could use ninjutsu from a distance or throwing weapons. Or you could use a sword like your Kitty-chan to increase reach. When I was your age I used a staff." He winked at the boy. "I was pretty small for my age too."

That seemed to bring back the boy's enthusiasm and he grinned at the man. "Hey, gramps, can you teach me?"

"Hmmm, we'll see," the Hokage hedged, knowing outright saying no would only make the boy more determined. They were nearing the apartment building, so he slowed down to ask the boy a question that had been bothering him. "Naruto, did you know Cat-san was with you when you were meditating?"

"Of course, old man, I'm not stupid," the boy groused.

"I didn't say you were stupid," he chastised the kid. "How did you know she was there?"

The boy shrugged. "I can tell when she's around, just like when you or Iruka-sensei are there. She stopped by when I just started meditating, I didn't say hi because I was trying to concentrate."

"Can you tell when other ANBU are around?" Sandaime asked becoming very curious.

Naruto seemed to think about the question. "I don't know, I never tried to look for them. After Kitty-chan saved me, she took me home and I learned…I guess I know what she feels like now."

"Well, that's very good, Naruto. Most ninja are a little older before they are able to identify chakra signatures. Let me know if you are able to sense other ANBU around the village. Now, go ahead and try to get some rest." Sarutobi gently nudged the boy toward the apartment building.

He stood outside till the boy disappeared inside the building then turned to return to the tower. He pondered the meeting; at least on the surface the boy hadn't changed much, but here and there his questions showed that he had been affected by recent events. Sarutobi did not lament the change, knowing that if the child wanted to be a functioning shinobi someday, a little maturity at the cost of losing his innocence was not a poor bargain. He smiled to himself at the thought that perhaps Naruto might have some crude sensor abilities; no one would accuse the boy for being perceptive typically.

All in all, Sarutobi returned to his duties with a much lighter heart.

(Scene Break)

Harry shut the door and held out his palm casting the charms for secrecy he and his friends had used while camping on their hunt for the Horcruxes. He sighed in relief when the spells did take effect; he hadn't been sure he would be able to cast those charms without a wand. Once he had his privacy, he dropped the grinning mask, and his expression looked thunderous.

"Mito-dono," he called, turning toward to woman who appeared in the real world now. "Why did you tell me to ask the old man about my issue with reach?"

The woman have small regal bow. "My lord, you are very vexed right now, and while you were able to act as you did before your awakening, you were not thinking to say something which would convince Sarutobi that you had been affected by the attempt on your life. By asking that question you displayed that you are feeling vulnerable. He will not be suspicious now if you were to now work to remove that weakness, and it will only cement the notion that you have matured."

Harry watched her for a moment after she finished, trying to find flaw in her reasoning. Finally accepting it he simply grunted in acknowledgment and sat on the couch with a deep frown.

"My lord," Mito-dono said, coming to sit before him. "I understand that you wished to rail against the Hokage and curse him for keeping these secrets from you. However, if you _had_ you would have aroused Sarutobi's suspicion. He is not a man to be taken lightly."

Harry did not answer, he simply sat and fumed. He was finding it hard to even believe all the things that had been revealed to him and the awful parallels between his first life and his circumstances as Naruto. If it hadn't been Mito quietly pleading with him to keep up the act of the clueless child with Sarutobi he would have done the man a fatal injury. Intellectually he knew that not taking any action while he was furious was the most sensible thing to do but that gave him no moral satisfaction.

"Forgive me, my lord. I have burdened you," Mito-dono spoke, bowing so low that her red hair kissed the floor.

Harry glared at her balefully, knowing she was not the cause of his problems but unable to be understanding just at that moment. "Jinchuriki," he said in a loathing filled whisper. "The power of human sacrifice… Did you know Mito-dono that in my previous life I was a human sacrifice as well? That there the man I thought loved me and was my guardian was simply helping me stay alive until the correct moment where I could lay down my life!" he suddenly shouted. "And here my own father put a demon inside me!"

There was a long silence before Mito-dono spoke, "My lord, I suspected that you were a reborn soul, but I did not know for certain, nor did I know of your other life. I am ashamed that the village I sacrificed so much for acted in the way it has. But most of all, my lord, as one of your clansmen, I am aggrieved to hear that even when reincarnated you did not have a better fate awaiting you than your last life."

Some of Harry's anger dissipated at the older woman's words. "Please raise your head, Mito-dono. I am sorry I yelled at you, it isn't your fault. I should be thanking you for telling me everything."

The woman came closer to him and kneeled once again, this time by his feet. Slowly she reached out and rested a half transparent hand over his. Harry was stunned to find that he could feel the warmth in it, even if it didn't feel solid. Mito-dono seemed surprised as well, but she schooled her features quickly. "My lord, I am here for you. You are my legacy and you are my family. As Master of Death you know that my loyalty is yours to command, but I wish you to understand that I give it to you freely without obligation." She placed her other hand on his cheek in a maternal gesture. "Suspect others in your life as you will, but you may trust in me without reservation."

Harry smiled wanly, despite himself taking heart in her words and her presence. "Thank you, Mito-dono." He stood, slipping away from her comforting hands to go make himself dinner. She stood and followed him as he went cupboard to cupboard finding only cups of instant ramen. Strangely that did not bother him and he found himself looking forward to the quick meal.

While he waited for the water to boil he decided to speak his mind on some things, hoping to see how loyal Mito was to him. "Mito-dono, my experience is that being right about something doesn't matter as long as you're too weak to fight for what is right. In my old life I was somewhat strong in magic-"

"Magic? Truly?" she smiled in open curiosity.

"It's not so surprising is it? A lot of this ninjutsu is like magic, not to mention the idea of demons," Harry said.

Mito-dono nodded as if thinking on it. "Perhaps, but magic is divine or demonic power, something unexplainable, that follows no logic…it is a power not experienced by those in the mortal realm."

"Follows no logic?" Harry scoffed. "If you said that in front of my Transfiguration professor she would have you writing lines for a month."

Mito-dono laughed softly. "Forgive me, I interrupted you. You were speaking of being righteous and power."

Harry nodded becoming serious again. "Yeah. Basically, I wasn't powerful enough to be really at the same level as the masters of magic in my life, and I didn't know so much about my own life that I was finding out secrets to literally my dying day." He paused to pour the boiling water from the kettle into the ramen cups. "I didn't know that there wasn't anyone really looking out for me just for my sake, other than my best friends. Here, I don't have anyone," he looked at her apologetically, "except you, of course, Mito-dono. So what it means is that I have to become powerful enough to be reckoned with and I need to know everything about myself." He turned to fix her with a determined expression, which was ruined because he had to look up at the regal woman. "I will not be manipulated because of my weakness or ignorance. From this moment I consider Konoha my enemy including the old man, Sarutobi. It wouldn't be the first time someone was kind to me just to use me later. Can you be loyal to me knowing how I feel now?"

The woman sighed, casting her eyes on the floor. "I love this village and it pains me to hear you declare it your enemy, but I trust that you will find people here to love. My loyalty is not in doubt, I have given you my word and I never break my word." She raised her eyes to catch his and gave him an amused smile, "Such is my nindo as well."

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I can accept that. Trust me," he said as his eyes became distant and his shoulders fell showing defeat, "I am not looking for revenge and I don't want to make enemies. I'm just tired of having my trust betrayed."

"In the world of the shinobi you must be powerful enough that for others to betray your trust is a fatal mistake. You are very wise to know that without strength and knowledge you cannot hope that people will be charitable and do right by you, my lord." She nodded to herself. "I will train you in the skills essential to a vessel, and particular techniques of the Uzumaki clan. The teachers you have had so far and Sarutobi have missed a very basic reason you performed poorly."

Harry ate his ramen, secretly pleased to see the woman so fired up. "And what is that besides my hyper nature?"

"Uzumaki clan was blessed with exceptional vitality. We lived longer and stronger than others, and we had on average greater chakra than others. But those of our clan chosen to be Jinchuriki had exceptionally great chakra with the ability to manipulate it in ways unknown to other clans. Your mother, for example, took to forming chains with her chakra that could manifest outside her body. They were formidable enough to trap and hold a demon like the nine tailed fox even when she was at death's door." Mito-dono smiled with fierce pride. "And so, young Naruto should have been taught to manage his chakra, as it is taught in the Uzumaki clan."

Harry pondered her words as he continued to eat, enjoying the warmth of the noodle soup. Mention of his 'mother' made him feel awkward. To him only Lily Potter deserved being called mother, but the little Mito-dono had told him about Kushina made him curious. He could summon her, of course, to meet her, but it was too soon. He did not know how to feel about her yet. "I have to admit," Harry said. "When I was meditating on my chakra, it was kind of overwhelming. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to manage it."

"As any problem, one must separate it in smaller parts and solve it step by step." The woman was smiling at him with a glint in her eye that Harry couldn't quite figure out.

"You are up to something," Harry said with a raised brow.

"Oh, yes, I am planning on teaching you a forbidden justu. A technique which was common enough for the Uzumaki clan but dangerous for clans without our vitality or chakra reserves. It is a necessary tool for an Uzumaki Jinchuriki." She made a hand seal and called out something and suddenly there were ten versions of her standing in Harry's apartment.

Harry was about to say he already knew about the illusion but the words died on his lips when he sensed her soul in each and every copy of her. "Oh…wow!"

"With your chakra divided amongst copies of you, you can learn to use your chakra precisely. That was the purpose of creating this technique; however, its side benefits are even more useful. Each copy of yours functions in the same way you would, and when it is dispelled, its experiences are absorbed back into you." She gave him a wry smile. "I imagine if you intend to keep your promise to that young boy, Iruka, you could use this technique to cover many subjects at the same time."

Harry laughed suddenly, happy to see things finally looking up. "Mito-dono, the only way you could make me happier right now would be to tell me where I could find a phoenix."

Mito-dono, who had been enjoying showing off, suddenly felt off balance at the odd question. "What do you need a phoenix for, Naruto?" she asked, forgetting the more formal address.

"For a magic wand, I need either a phoenix feather or tail hair from a unicorn, or a heartstring from a dragon. If I can make a wand, I can do magic," Harry explained.

Mito-dono thought for a moment. "I wonder if there is a summoning jutsu for divine beings."

Harry's ears perked up. "What exactly is a summoning jutsu?"

[Scene Break]

It was noon the next day and Harry had not slept yet. His eyes were gritty with the need to rest and he was constantly yawning. He had given Mito-dono her leave somewhere around late morning after questioning her on creatures she insisted were just mythical and possibilities of how to summon the supposed nonexistent beings. After she had left, Harry continued working on the Shadow Copy technique she had demonstrated. His mind was far too active to sleep and repeatedly working on something had helped him clear his thoughts.

As Harry had expected, Naruto, had an instinct for techniques if he could simply try them. Utilizing the younger boy's experiences and inclinations and his own abilities, Harry was very pleased to be sitting in his lounge surrounded by copies of himself. Sadly he was too beat to keep them going and dispelled them to do one last thing before he allowed himself rest.

He traced the circle on his palms and fixed the name and image of the man he wished to call from beyond death. Having called his name, Harry waited, and after a very long minute he appeared slumped on his floor, with his matted hair streaming into his wild eyes. Severus Snape looked haunted and ill.

Snape looked around, casting his eyes at Harry but not recognizing him since all he saw was a little blond boy. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

Harry cocked his head to the side at his professor's strained voice. "You are in another realm of existence than you spent your life in. I suppose you already know I am the Master of Death and I have summoned you here."

The man nodded jerkily and painfully rose to his feet, staring all the time from jaundiced eyes. "Milord, how is it you know of me to call me?"

Harry almost wanted to smile and taunt the man, but his broken condition stopped him. "We knew each other when we were both alive. I was reborn in this world after my death."

Snape's eyes widened and his sallow skin seemed to pale even more. "Lord Vold-"

"No," Harry cut him off. With a grim smile he said, "I suppose you never really expected me to win against him, did you?"

Snape blinked in confusion. "Potter? You're the Master of Death?"

"Yes, now tell me what happened to you. No one else I've summoned has been in your condition," Harry said.

Snape laughed humorlessly. "Perhaps they had made better choices in life. I'd thought selling my soul to Dumbledore would redeem it, but I have much to pay for, and I have been paying for it ever since I died. This is my first moment free of torment."

Harry winced inside but did not let it show. It was unexpected that Snape would confess something like that to him, and most likely the man only did because he was compelled to do so. Most importantly, Harry had been thinking about this decision all morning while he worked on Mito-dono's technique. He had decided that pitying the man like Dumbledore had would do him no good. "We all expected Dumbledore to be more than he was," Harry said.

Snape grunted, "So you went to your death, head held high."

Harry shrugged, choosing to let that be all the answer. "Despite every wrong you have done me, Snape, you didn't like the idea of…raising me like a barnyard animal just to be slaughtered. Well, in hindsight, I don't like the idea too much myself, and I am in the same situation again."

"Why am I not surprised?" Snape sneered, absentmindedly looking at the apartment. "I suppose you have moved up in the world, out of the cupboard into a derelict hole in the wall."

Harry raised a brow, affecting a cold expression he had seen on Snape many times. "Snape, I am the Master of Death, you are here because I summoned you. Do you want me to send you back to whichever hellhole I pulled you out of?"

Snape's back straightened and the sneer vanished. "That would be unnecessary. I live to serve."

Harry rolled his eyes at the morbid joke. "You are going to be as difficult as possible. If I knew you can't betray me, I'd be too happy to send you away. But I need a spymaster, and you're the only one I know."

Snape inclined his head in question before smirking. "So you have understood the value of intelligence. I'll do anything, just keep me out of…" he trailed off.

Harry nodded slowly. "I'm willing to keep you safe from paying your debts, Snape. In turn you will give me absolute loyalty, hold back nothing and devote yourself utterly. This is my order."

"Acceptable," Snape said simply, then with a thought added, "Milord."

Harry cringed at the title, knowing that the man probably only meant it as a title. "My name in this realm is Uzumaki Naruto. I am something called a Jinchuriki, which is a human prison for a demon. We are in the Village Hidden in the Leaves of ninja."

"…ninja?" Snape uttered the word with such ridicule that Harry was glad Mito-dono wasn't around to hear it.

"Yes, as insane as it sounds. They seem to be more like soldiers and mercenaries for hire than just assassins, but I am not sure. Your job is to spy on their leader. I want to know what they want with me, what their plans are."

Snape crossed his arms. "You are not thinking of this clearly."

"Oh?"

"I see that you have formed the logical conclusion that if you have a demon inside you, someone will want to use you, but that someone is not necessarily just one person. Power attracts many competing forces. Think back to our life, you had the Ministry, Dumbledore, and even the Dark Lord who wished to use you for their purposes." Snape shook his head in disappointment. "It is not as simple as you're imagining it."

Harry grinned. "Well, I suppose you are the spymaster then. Fine, do whatever you think is necessary. Just find out everything relevant to me or Jinchuriki. If I have enemies, I want to know who they are."

"And how to eliminate them," Snape added. "It will be done." He bowed in the manner Harry had seen him bow to Lord Voldemort and disappeared.

"Well, shit, life sure is weird. Snape bowing to me," Harry declared before falling back on the couch to promptly fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A.N. Thanks for all the reviews, nice to see such a big response. Some quick answers/comments. One, I am doing character development, so characters will grow as circumstances change, they get more information etc, as they are more emotional in some moments, and reflective in others – that means, don't expect them to be just one dimensional or to continue acting in one way all the time, people change, so do characters. Second, I don't have any pairings in mind, I meant to address Harry/Naruto's feelings for Sakura in this chapter but really couldn't focus on it, look for it next time. Third, wand issue is clarified here, it should make sense. The rest: Enjoy.

Chapter 4

It was two days since Harry had sent Snape on his mission. Two days that he had spent brooding on his new circumstances. If it were not for his extreme need for information he wouldn't even have created the shadow clones Mito-dono had taught him to begin his studies. Now he stood in the waxing moonlight in front of the memorial stone of fallen heroes. He stared at the names of the Hokages on it, but again and again his eyes drifted to the name 'Uzumaki Kushina.' She had both been his mother and a Jinchuriki; he could use both right then to help him figure out his new life. His fingers itched to trace the circle in his palms to summon her, but his heart was torn at the thought he may be betraying Lily Potter by acknowledging Kushina.

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration and turned away to return home. He only managed a few steps when he froze in doubt again. The world Naruto had grown up in was confusing and the boy had dealt with it by almost single-mindedly obsessing over becoming Hokage. But for Harry that wasn't enough. He needed to understand what the role of a Jinchuriki was, what did the village or Sarutobi expected of him. The history books only said that the first Hokage divided up the tailed demons amongst villages to balance power – was Naruto simply a strategic counterweight? A weapon of demonic destruction to stave off other villages' imperial ambitions? These were answers that Kushina probably had, having been a Jinchuriki herself.

Harry returned to the memorial stone, almost determined now to call the woman who had brought him into his second life. Unfortunately, it was just then that his reverie was broken by a loud voice counting off numbers.

"Three hundred eighty-two!" the shout came. "Three hundred eighty-three!" the voice was getting nearer. "Three hundred eighty-four!" A tall man wearing a body suit somersaulted into the clearing around the memorial stone. Harry stared at the heavily breathing man as he performed another somersault and landed right in front of him.

"Yosh! What is a youthful child like you doing here? You should be in bed, ready to fan the flames of youth as the sun rises tomorrow!" the man with the bowl cut hair style bellowed, causing sleeping birds in a nearby tree to take off in fright.

"Err…just paying my respects?" Harry said unsurely. The man seemed unhinged but Harry couldn't judge if he was dangerous. He stepped back a little just to be safe and fixed the image of his apartment in his mind, in case he needed to disapparate away.

The man was nodding to himself seriously. "It is most youthful of you to honor our heroes this late at night, but you will worry your guardians."

Harry waved his hand dismissively with a wry smile. "They're right here." He motioned to the Memorial Stone.

The tall man grabbed his shoulder forcefully, presumably to comfort him, his other hand was closed in a pumping fist, and his eyes seemed to have teared up. "Such a hip, cool attitude toward your grief! Yosh! I, the beautiful green beast of Konoha Mito Gai, will be your most youthful big brother from now on!"

"Ah, ha, ha." Harry's eyes widened at the utterly insane man and his powerful grip on him. "You really don't have to do that, and aren't you old enough to be my uncle anyway?"

The man suddenly hung his head in dejection and brought his other hand to rest on Harry's shoulders as well. "There's that hip attitude ruining my style again. But I will not give up! I must fan the flames of youth that burn so brightly in you! And if you will not have me as your elder brother then I will be the best uncle you ever have, and if I can't do that, I will climb the Hokage Mount using only two fingers!" At the end of his declaration, Gai had once again raised his head and was staring at Harry with unworldly determination.

Luckily during the speech Harry had noticed the Konoha head protector clipped to Gai's belt, and decided that Sarutobi wouldn't allow someone demented to serve as a ninja, so despite what he saw, Gai was probably alright. "Err, Gai-san-"

"Gai nii-san," the man corrected with a blinding smile.

"Hey! I thought we decided you're too old to be my brother!"

"I'm only twenty-six, my fires of youth will not allow me to be an _uncle_," Gai said the last with horror.

"Well, you need to tweeze your eyebrows or something because they make you look old, Gai-san." Harry crossed his arms and gave him a grin of his own.

"How is it you have such fires of youth and also a hip attitude? You cannot have both! Now call me nii-san, for I have vowed to take away your loneliness!" Gai bellowed.

Harry was taken aback by the man's latest declaration. He had seemed totally oblivious to Harry's mood throughout the encounter, but suddenly displayed that he wasn't as stupid as he acted. "Hey, nii-san," Harry began, giving in to calling the man 'brother, "Don't worry about me, I was just sulking a little. I promise…my…err…_flames of youth_…don't need to be fanned."

Gai nodded sagely and he released Harry to turn to the Memorial Stone. "I have many friends and family here." He nodded to the stone. "I used to come here to find comfort in them, but it did not help, their names were there but their souls…of course, are not here. I lost myself wondering why I couldn't find comfort at this stone when so many of my colleagues and friends could." He looked over his shoulder and piercing Harry with such a serious expression that Harry wondered if it was the same man as before. "But one day I realized I was not wrong to feel nothing here, because their legacy is not carved on polished rock. Their legacy is here." He pointed to his heart. "They died so their comrades and families could live. _Live!_" he said smacking his fist in his hand. "They died to keep our flames alive, and so now I honor them with burning the flames inside me." He smiled, softening the grave expression on his face. "And now I will help you, passing on their legacy to you, Uzumaki Naruto."

Harry could only blink in shock at the man's sudden depth and confession. He wet his lips, trying to find something to say. When nothing came, he weakly asked, "Does anyone in this village not know who I am?"

"Of course not, you are Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's Number One Delinquent!" Gai bellowed, reverting to his manic persona.

Harry could do nothing but laugh until he had tears in his eyes. "Believe it!" he shouted. The strange man had somehow broken him out of his funk.

"Come, little brother, you will help me finish somersaulting five hundred times before dawn!" Gai ran to him and chucked him in the air. Harry had no option to somersault to land on his feet.

"Three hundred eighty-five!" Gai threw him in the air again, following him a second later.

_This is not happening,_ Harry thought, getting completely manhandled by Konoha's green maniac.

(Scene break)

Dumbledore sat in his ghostly chair in Harry's apartment, watching him attempt to transfigure a chair into a box. Harry's cursed for the umpteenth time and gave up. "See? I am totally useless."

The old wizard smiled gently. "Of course not, dear boy. As you have already told me and demonstrated, you can cast quite a lot of magic without a wand."

"But I can't do this! I have been trying to transfigure things all day," Harry protested.

"Harry, it is normal to expect that magic you are most familiar with, such as your defense spells, the summoning charm, and the spells you and your friends used admirably on your hunt for the Horcruxes on a daily basis will work. While transfiguration of lounge furniture, which is something I am sure you practiced little outside of class is difficult. It's simply a matter of mastery of the magic your truly know and the magic you do not."

"But I could do this with a wand, I just can't do it wandlessly." Harry frowned.

"Just practice, Harry. That is all to it. The Elder Wand is powerful enough that it will amplify the spells. I am sure once you are comfortable with it even your neglected disciplines will come to you naturally." The man smiled in bemusement, knowing no student ever liked to hear that they just had to put the hard work in.

Harry nodded reluctantly. "Still, I need to have some way of hiding that I am doing magic. These ninja are not familiar with our way of doing things. They will be suspicious."

"Perhaps the lady Mito can cast some insight on that subject?" he suggested.

"Ah, yea, about her...did you think of a way we can figure out she is being truthful without me using the Hallows equivalent of Veritaserum? I think she would be really insulted if I forced her," Harry mused.

"Severus suggested something..." Dumbledore said carefully. "Don't dismiss it out of hand, Harry. I think he may have an idea which could solve more than one problem."

Harry shrugged noncommittally. "Fire way."

[Scene break]

Appearances must be kept, and besides it was too much fun not to indulge himself. Harry held the plastic plate in his hand, concentrating on the transfiguration he wanted. Fifteen minutes later (after much frustration) the plate had changed its shape to match what he hoped for. It resembled the Cat ANBU's mask fairly closely, only with the addition of whisker marks. The charm to change his hair color was much easier, yellow blond turned to purple like the woman's who he had declared as his newest idol. Mask on and clothes charmed to vaguely look like ANBU uniform, Harry headed out of the apartment.

He remembered that the first day of school was always fun because everyone showed up early to meet up with their friends. So he knew that he would find them all present before classes started. And, unfortunately, he knew his new class knew him already. Harry cringed at the memory of Naruto trying to lord his 'senpai' status over this class the past year and getting his ass handed to him by the 'junior' class's rising star, Uchiha Sasuke. Not to mention how many times he had been brutally rejected by the pink haired girl young Naruto crushed on. So Harry, with the wear of extra years on his soul, decided to even the score of humiliation.

The gates to the Academy were wide open and the courtyard just inside was teaming with titchy Academy students. Harry grinned behind the mask, identifying the class that had been behind him, the bastard Uchiha Sasuke who had shamed him in joint Taijutsu classes and the rest. Uchiha seemed to be trying to stand a little apart with his dark head hanging in an expression of cool brooding, but he was surrounded by girls hopeful for his attention. The pale boy was ignoring them and so was the first to notice the Cat masked ANBU enter the Academy. Following his gaze the girls turned to spy Harry in his mock ANBU gear as well.

A blond haired girl frowned. "Ano, ANBU-san, what are you doing here?" Her father had told her of some ninja who were talented enough to make into the elite ANBU division while others their age were just Genins, but she didn't know there was anyone current like that. Last one she knew of was her crush's older brother.

In answer the young ANBU planted himself in the courtyard, arms crossed over his chest and seemed to stare at them from the holes in the cat mask. "Academy brats!" he shouted unnecessarily, because by then all the other children had quieted to look at the odd site of an ANBU visiting the Academy.

Harry seeing he had their full attention, grinned to himself. "Hokage-sama has heard that this year's class is full of prodigies and heirs to the major clans of the village. He wants me to test the talent and see if he can promote you and begin your training with the elite ANBU!" He watched with amusement as Uchiha Sasuke's eyes took on a determined glint and a smirk. _Bastard,_ Naruto's memories provided his oft used nickname for the talented kid.

"Yes! Let's show him what we can do!" A child with a wild look about him and a puppy pumped his fist.

"Good," Harry said. "Form two squads on me. Our mission is to storm the Hokage tower and plant one of these flags on the roof and one in the Hokage office." He unfurled two purple flags with the Cat mask and the words Kick-Ass Kitty-Chan Division.

"What the hell? Why do we need to plant a flag?" some kid asked.

Harry had turned around and started walking expecting them to fall behind him, which they did. Over his shoulder he said, "It's a test. If you can get in the office, you could theoretically steal important documents. Oh! And if anyone asks what you're doing, you're testing out for the ANBU juniors division."

As he began to jog the short distance to the Hokage Tower, Uchiha Sasuke fell in right next to him, obviously wanting to prove himself. As expected the girls of the class followed right behind him. Five minutes later they turned a corner and were in sight of the tower and the two Chunnin guard's at the main entrance. "Alright, Uchiha, you will be responsible for the flag on the roof. Once we get into the Sandaime's office, you will use the window to climb onto the roof with three others and secure the flag. It will be your job to make sure no one takes down the flag."

"Hai!" Sasuke said with all the seriousness he could muster, which was depressingly much for a kid. Harry felt a twinge of guilt which he squashed knowing the bastard deserved it for looking down on him.

Harry picked up the pace and he saw the two Chunnin guards at the gate watching the crowd of kids warily as they were making a beeline to the tower. Harry held up his right hand, motioning to half the kids who were running in a 'squad' on his right. "Take out the guards, ATTACK!"

With a high pitched war cry Sasuke and his girls broke upon the two Chunnin. Kunais attached with ninja wire flew at their legs, just as others jumped to body check the two stunned young men. Sasuke launched an impressive flying back kick in the face of one, as his audience squealed at his coolness. Harry was glad to see the girls were not totally distracted; one white eyed girl took advantage of the chunnin's distraction to perform an odd taijutsu strike with open palms at the men knees. They both fell, their legs giving way under them at the deceptively soft strikes, after that the other Kunoichi overwhelmed them with numbers.

"Good job! Some of you guard them, the rest with me!" Harry rushed through the door at head of the keening war cry that the kids' were emitting.

He saw one of the secretary's eyes widen at the invasion and laughed, simply pointing at the woman, and letting his rugrat hoard take her down. The woman, unfortunately, was a retired Kunoichi and the thumb tacks on her desk became impromptu weapons for her.

"Fight through the pain!" Harry yelled, seeing his team get stung with the tacks. Apparating, he appeared behind her and slammed his open palm on her back yelling "Stupefy!"

The woman crumpled and he ordered her to be tied up. Sasuke had left him behind and was running up the stairs to the next level with several of his admirers. Others followed just because they didn't want him to have all the glory.

"Ok, initiative, that's a good thing, not following orders is a bad thing," Harry said for the benefit of the kids standing guard over the woman.

Leaving them there he ran fast as he could up the stairs, knowing that while the lower level was deserted because everyone was at the Mission's Office, the Hokage's personal office would have more capable guards than the chunnin. He arrived just as Sasuke and a good dozen others were making a rush towards the one Jounin at the Sandaime's door.

"Shit!" Harry cursed, seeing the kunai in the man's hand, even though he could tell the jounin was more confused than alarmed at the site of a bunch of kids running at him. "Incarcerous!" Harry shouted from within the weapon brandishing mob of students. Ropes shot like bullets at the man and got him in the leg, making him fall over. The wild looking child with the puppy pounced on him, pinning an arm, while his puppy worried the jounin's other arm.

"What the Hell are you brats doing?" the man hollered.

A child in a white trench coat with a wide collar covering half his face stepped to the jounin. "We are being tested for the ANBU junior division. Please do not resist, jounin-san." He raised his hand at the downed soldier and a cloud of insects flew out of the sleeve to hover by the jounin's face.

"The fuck? There is no ANBU Junior Division, you idiots. You are in serious trouble," the man shouted, paying little heed to the instincts.

Harry watched the trench-coat kid in interest as he simply cocked his head to the side. "It's logical for you to attempt to sow dissent in our ranks. Such juvenile tactics will not work on us," he said.

"Yeah," the blond haired kunoichi who had questioned Harry at the Academy agreed. "If there is no ANBU junior division, how do you explain him?" She jerked a thumb back at Harry.

The man took in Harry's mask and uniform with a scowl. "That's not Cat-san, you fools!"

"Of course, it isn't," Harry said stepping forward. "It's Cat-san junior. Uchiha, continue with your mission. Trench-coat boy and puppy kid, you keep him down. Blond girl," Harry turned to who he suspected was the 'Queen bee' Kunoichi. "Guard the floor with your team."

Sasuke was already through the door and climbing out of the window, while several boys and girls followed him to the roof. Harry took out the one flag he had and handed to the girls who had come through with him. They promptly stuck kunai in the ceiling and used it to hang the flag. Then started jumping and hugging each other like a bunch of schoolgirls at their victory.

Harry rolled his eyes and looked in the corner of the Sandaime's office where Severus Snape stood, invisible to all but him. "Where is it?" he whispered, while others were preoccupied with celebrating.

"Middle shelf, third scroll from the right, it is the one with information on Jinchuriki," the sallow man indicated.

Harry went to it without delay and pulling out the thick scroll quickly cast a gemino curse on it. He touched it to trigger the curse, making copies of the original. With another motion of his hand the gemino curse was cancelled and Harry had placed the scroll back.

"Ok, where's the other one?" Harry asked.

Snape rolled his eyes and pointed the scroll right next to the one Harry had just copied. Harry simply scowled at him and grabbed the large scroll unfurling it and kicking back on the Sandaime's chair to lazily read it.

"Um, Anbu-san, what now?" the pink headed girl, Sakura, who Naruto had a crush on peeked into the office.

"Now we wait to be arrested," Harry said, not seeing the little girl's expression pale. He was looking over the forbidden jutsu "Summoning: Impure World Resurrection." Mito-dono had told him her brother-in-law had created the technique which functioned similarly to Harry's resurrection stone ability. She had off-handedly commented that Harry would need some excuse to explain away his knowledge of forbidden techniques she was teaching him. The comment had given Harry the idea for the cover he needed for his other purpose conveniently.

It was only a few minutes later that sounds of ANBU body flickering into the tower erupted followed by clouds of smoke or swirls of leaves. Harry winced behind the mask seeing out in the hallway as the children were pinned on the ground within moments.

And then the Sandaime himself was standing in the office, flanked by his guards, his dark eyes alight with fury. He seemed to blink at the flag with the declaration 'Kick Ass Kitty-Chan Division' for a moment and then sighed in frustration. "That's you, Naruto, isn't it!"

"Haha!" Harry leaped on the desk. "How do you like my audition for ANBU, old man? Now you can put me on Kitty-chan's team! I even learned awesome jutsu while I waited for your cripple ass to get here." He pointed proudly to the scroll of forbidden jutsu lying open.

"Naruto?" The blond girl shouted from under an ANBU's foot in half rage and half disbelief. "I'm going to _kill_ you!"

Before the Sandaime could respond to Naruto or the most recent death threat against him, the real Cat appeared at his side. "Tower is secured, Hokage-sama. Seems like it's just Academy kids..." she caught sight of a miniature boy version of herself, holding court on top of the Sandaime's desk and a flag with her nickname on it. "My lord, what is happening here?"

"Uzumaki is auditioning for a position on your squad, Kitty-chan," a masked, silver haired ninja on the Sandaime's other side answered, his amusement obvious in his tone.

Suddenly the mood in the room changed as an oppressive pressure appeared in the form of the Hokage's anger manifesting in killing intent. Harry cringed but realized he knew he was in for a penny, in for a pound.

"Kakashi," the Sandaime said in a rage suppressed whisper. "Get him out of my sight before I do something permanently debilitating to him."

"Yes, sir!" The silver haired ninja closed the space between Harry and himself faster than Harry could follow. The next thing he knew he was tucked under the man's arm, who in turn was jumping out of the window and away.

(scene break)

Harry was serving the fifteenth hour of his punishment to clean the sewers while being suspended from the Academy for a week. Slime covered the walls and the stench felt like it was covering him like a layer of sweat. He pushed the mop without complaint, waiting till the genin supervising his punishment dozed off so he could use magic. Luckily he was far away that Harry could hold a conversation with his unseen visitor.

The red haired woman looked distinctly out of place in her expensive lavender kimono. The slight frown under the diamond mark on her forehead was the only indication that she found the surroundings unpleasant. "So, my lord, am I to assume that you trust me. Now that you have verified what I have told you by breaking into Sarutobi's office."

Harry smiled. "Don't be upset, Mito-dono. I also established a cover for what you're teaching me."

The woman was not mollified. "Not all I am teaching you is recorded in the Scroll of Forbidden Techniques."

"Doesn't matter, if the old man asks me I can tell him you trained me." He shrugged, steadily mopping the walkways bordering the sewer.

"I thought you wished to keep your status as Master of Death secret." She frowned. 

"I do, but he doesn't need to know that. If push comes to shove, I'll just tell him I played around with your brother-in-law's resurrection technique, which _is_ listed in the forbidden scroll, by the way." Harry winked at her happily.

She only narrowed her eyes at him, seeming to blush in anger. "You have thought of everything, have you?"

"Eh." Harry waved dismissively. "I have access to some very talented experts in subterfuge." His thoughts went to Dumbledore and Snape who had advised him in creating his plan.

"I wish you had trusted me," Mito-dono reproached.

Harry paused and caught her eyes in his own. "I know I can command you to be completely honest with me, but I like the idea of you being loyal to me without being forced. But I needed to know for sure, so my advisors and I came up with this plan to kill two birds with one stone. I trust you implicitly, and I no longer need to hide some of the forbidden jutsus you're teaching me."

The woman matched his gaze for a long moment before giving a bow. "Your decision was wise. I am glad I have your trust. Please consult me in the future before committing capital offenses against Konoha."

Harry laughed. "Hey, all's well that ends well."

She graced him with a flat look. "Yet you are here in the sewers and will be for a whole week."

Harry's shoulders slumped, feeling thoroughly deflated by his ancestor.


	5. Chapter 5

A.N. I've been meaning to update sooner, but I haven't had a lot of time the last few days to write. So I thought I'd post what I have instead of leaving you lot to wait longer. This is pretty short, but I hope it's amusing.

Someone asked me about my update rate. My hope is to update twice a week. What days? I don't know.

About pairings: I don't really know yet. I have a few pairings I usually like, but Harry/Naruto is in a weird situation here with being more mature than his classmates. So anyone from the Rookie 9 would be too weird right now, and no one older would make sense either because from their point of view he'd be kid. If you guys/gals have any suggestions, let me know.

Chapter 5

Harry's arms were tired, his emotions frayed, and he stank. He really could have gone back to his apartment to shower, but then he wouldn't have been enjoying petty revenge on the Hokage and his staff, as he stood in the Missions Office smelling like literally shit. The Chunnin were covering their noses none too discreetly, the Genin teams coming in with their Jounin instructors were giving him a wide berth and shooting him disgusted looks.

"Naruto…" The Sandaime called, watching the boy from shadowed eyes under the hat of his office. "Have you finished with the Aburame clan?"

"Sure thing, gramps. I shoveled shit in the sewers for a few days, then shoveled shit for the Nara clan's deer, and I just got back shoveling bug shit for the Aburame clan." He put on a deeply thoughtful look, "Ano, I don't think there's any more shit in the village left to shovel – unless you count the brains of the person who came up with this punishment for me." He smiled dazzlingly, hearing and enjoying the shocked comments at his language.

The old Hokage sighed deeply. "The punishment is meant to teach you something, Naruto."

"Oh, no worries there, old man. I learned lots at the Aburame clan. Shino's dad told me all about the mating habits of his bugs. Did you know when Shino's mom and dad want to get it on they have to convince their colonies to go along with it? Apparently the queen bugs can be really frigid, so foreplay is all about warming up the creepers in their bodies and-"

"Enough!" a Chunnin assisting the Hokage slammed his palm on the desk. "We don't need to hear this."

"Hey! Show some respect, if I had to sit there cleaning bug shit and learn my classmate's parent's mating habits and be tormented emotionally then you have to as well." Harry glared at the man, secretly loving the utterly scandalized look on the Sandaime's face. "Now, as I was saying. Once the pillow talk portion is over, they can get down and do the dirty, and there's this thing Shino's Mom does that just drives Shino's Dad's bugs crazy. She sends her colonies in his body for some nonconsensual dominance sex with Shino's Dad's bugs, whether they like it or not. This is a total no no, but Shino's Mom is kinky like that." Then he said a little conspiratorially, "Which makes me really worried because Shino's big sister's bugs were _all_ over me, and I didn't know how to say that I didn't want her because I was afraid her bugs would rape me, seeing her mother's tendencies… Are you alright, old man?" Harry asked in mock sincerity. There was utter silence in the Mission's Office and the faces of everyone were etched in horror. Harry heard a retching sound and turned to see a girl on a Genin team being sick in the corner.

"Sweet God, someone cut his tongue out or cut my ears off," The Hokage gasped.

"It's your fault for sending me to a bunch of sex obsessed bug freaks, old man," Harry protested.

The Sandaime held up one hand to stall anymore words that would come out of the insane child, and with his other held his head. "Naruto, just go to the Inuzuka clan's vet clinic, they need you to clean out the kennels."

Harry put up a victory sign. "Wonderful! I'm off to shovel dog shit. Maybe this time I won't learn anything about my classmate's parent's sex lives. But if I do, I'll make sure to share."

The Sandaime started coughing. "No, Naruto, I think this will be your last punishment exercise. Once you're done, please…just, stay away. I don't want you to share anything."

"Aww, but, old man. I still have two days left of my suspension," Harry said.

"I will excuse it. I think you've learned from your punishments," The Sandaime said, making shooing motions. "Learned too much," he said sotto voce when the boy was out of sight. "Even reprimanding the brat will cost me my sanity."

[Scene Break]

Harry walked out of the office rolling his eyes. He hoped what he had said never got back to the Aburame clan, he didn't fancy being eaten alive by insects. He was making his way to the vet clinic when a stream of memories erupted in his mind. His muscles seem to tense all at the same time, as muscle memory and experience translated over from his dispersed clones. Stumbling a little at his body screaming for food to deal with the extreme changes, he changed direction to go home first. Finding an alley to duck into out of sight, he disapparated, practically falling into the shower stall. It was all he could do to not pass out under the hot shower as he thought on the memories of the dispersed clones.

Mito-dono was teaching his clones Uzumaki's clan's taijutsu style called the Whirpool Dance. With movements resembling the circular patterns of a whirlpool, designed to grind down an enemy from all sides without ever meeting him in a straight line, it was truly devastating. And this was all before the next form of the style where Harry was to generate chakra in his body and release it with his hits, creating a virtual maelstrom of limbs and raw chakra. His enthusiasm meant that he had dedicated a veritable army of clones to train with Mito-dono on the surface of the lake far outside the main village.

Harry smiled under the shower, walking on water still hadn't lost its novelty and charm. And, now with Mito-dono instructing his clone army to train on the surface of the lake as all good Uzumaki shinobi should, he was getting to enjoy the new skill to the utmost. But before he could send out more clones to where Mito-dono was probably waiting impatiently, he had to get food inside him. He stepped out of the bathroom to see his apartment packed with his clones covering every surface and reading from books or doing math problems. Harry wondered how much better he could have handled his first life if only he had the shadow clone jutsu. Brainwork was taxing on the body too, and once the ones in his apartment dispersed his hunger would only ratchet up. With that in mind, Harry dressed in fresh clothes and headed to Ichiraku's for ramen bowls in the double digits.

[Scene Break]

While the Nara clan lived on sprawling land to accommodate its deer and their love for open space, and the Aburame clan lived in closely grouped houses, the Inuzuka clan's neighborhood matched what Harry was used to in his previous life. There was nothing there, other than the preponderance for dogs, that made it any different than anywhere suburbia. Most of the Inuzuka he saw as he entered their neighborhood grinned and winked at him. Someone even shouted to ask if he could join Harry's ANBU squad and then roared in laughter.

For his part, Harry smiled back at the clan members and waved cheerily to the man mocking him. He got the distinct impression that they were simply amused by him, and didn't hold him in contempt like most of the village. It was with a happy heart then that he entered the vet clinic compound. Luckily, before he could even report to whoever was in charge he came upon the kennels. Looking right and left to see if any Inuzuka was present, he was happy to find he was alone. He closed the fence door behind him and with a wave of his hand opened the locks on all the kennels at once. "Alright, puppies, out you go, hurry up. Play time!" He waved to dogs ranging from little ankle-biting puppies to dogs that he was stunned to find came up to his shoulders.

Apparently they understood him just fine and were too happy to leave the kennel. Happy for the opportunity, Harry went from cage to cage, waving his hand whispering the vanishing spell. Within a few short minutes the Inuzuka clan's kennels were spotless. "Well, that's that. Now I can go and get some rest."

Unfortunately, his plan was halted when the puppies he had let out didn't want to go back to the kennels. Instead they wanted to play, and having a dozen puppies running around his feet and wrestling with each other was too much fun for Harry younger side not to give in to. Soon he was chasing the puppies or running from them, even rolling on the ground to let them wrestle him down. The bigger dogs were more sedate and seemed to have taken up watch to make sure that no one got hurt while the human pup roughhoused.

After having his fill of wrestling with the puppies, Harry ushered them back into their kennels. It was time to go look for the chunin responsible for the clinic and report that his chore was done. He entered the swinging doors to a whitewashed hall, sounds of yips and barking echoed in the hall. They guided Harry to a room that looked exactly like any human hospital, with a stiff bed and neutral colored walls, with the smell of disinfectant. All this Harry was only peripherally aware of, since he was more focused on the larger than human sized white dog lying on the bed, licking the tiniest puppy he had ever seen. The large dog seemed to be comforting the pup who was yipping and whining. Flecks of blood marred the white fur around the pup's mouth. Its eyes were shut and its pink paws looked so soft Harry wondered if they could even support the tiny thing's weight. He guessed the puppy was newborn and in considerable pain.

When he walked closer the large dog, which he guessed was the pup's mother, fixed him with a stare. Having handled more than his share of magical creatures, Harry tried to exude confidence and goodwill while bowing to the beast. The dog cocked its head to its side in a curious gesture. Harry took that as a good sign and approached the bed without any hesitation. The pup was coughing pitifully and some instinct told Harry that it was dying. He felt himself drawn to that knowledge, he could almost see where death would strike the little being.

"Hush, it's going to be okay," Harry said, lost in the hypnotism of his own feelings, as he stroked the pup's neck with just his forefinger.

"She's dying," he heard a gravely voice.

Startled out of his reverie, Harry looked at the large dog, stunned. "Um, excuse me, did you just say something." He watched the dog's slightly open mouth carefully and especially the black lips curling back from its fangs.

"I said, my daughter is dying. It is _not_ going to be okay," the dog said.

Harry looked away from the dog to the puppy he was petting, to give himself a moment to get over being spoken to by an animal. It was not something entirely new to him, but a dog had never had a chat with him before. "I wouldn't give up yet," Harry said, again, sensing where death was preparing to strike the puppy. Not surprisingly it was a place in its lungs.

"What would a human pup like you know?" the dog demanded caustically.

Harry was too lost to respond to its words or the anger in them. His finger had, as if by its own accord, come to rest above the skin and flesh of the spot where he felt the puppy's death was growing. Following his body's instincts, Harry scooped the puppy into the palm of his hand. He rested his hand over the puppy's chest, not hearing the very threatening growl escape the mother. "Episkey!" Harry intoned in an otherworldly voice. His hands glowed green and Harry felt the puppy's death grow smaller and smaller till it disappeared altogether.

The puppy yipped happily and Harry laughed softly. When he came out of that strange place he found two kunai at his throat. His eyes widened in shock when he saw a woman in jounin uniform, with wild black Hair and red markings around her eyes and face, flanked by a younger girl who could have been a gentler looking version of her, holding the weapons to him.

"What-are-you-doing?" the older woman bit out.

"Ladies, let's calm down, I was just petting the puppy." Harry put the little animal back on the hospital bed, being careful that the movement didn't press the kunai any closer to his throat.

"Tsume, Hana," the dog on the bed growled. "The smell of death has left my daughter."

The women dropped the kunai to their sides, and the younger of them moved to examine the little puppy. While the older fixed Harry with a look made even more intimidating by her vertical slit pupils. "You healed the pup, she was terminal. What was that jutsu?"

Harry opened and shut his mouth, searching for an answer to give her. The woman had assumed that he had used some sort of ninjutsu, which was a good thing, but beyond that he didn't really know enough about how ninjutsu worked to lie well. "I-I don't know," he said finally, when it looked like the older woman was going to get physical. "I just held it and I could feel where it was hurt, and…and just wanted to help her."

"Hana?" the older woman asked not taking her eyes away from the blond kid in front of her.

"I don't get it. We couldn't heal her. She was going to die for sure. I can't figure out what he did but her lungs are completely healthy." The younger girl looked over her shoulder to smile. "She's going to live."

Harry was forced to look away from who he now knew was Tsume, when the bed made a creak as the large canine jumped off of it and came around to him. As prepared as he thought he was for the dog's size, Harry was still a little intimidated when the snow white dog came literally face to face. Reminding himself that Fluffy had been much bigger and far more ferocious, Harry calmed a little.

"Um, don't eat him, Saori," Hana said with a nervous laugh.

Just then the white dog opened its mouth and Harry stumbled back over his feet trying to get away. Sadly his way was blocked by Tsume and Harry got a face full of slobber as Saori showered him with affection. Hearing Tsume laugh, Harry gave in to the treatment, and brought his hands up to rub Saori's great neck. "You're not so scary, are you, Saori? Of course nothing as gorgeous as you could be anything but nice," he said, enjoying the feeling of the huge dog's fur. Saori made a chuffing noise which Harry interpreted as laughter.

"Such a flatterer. Tsume, you should tell Kuromaru I've found a better mate than him," Saori said, making Harry's blood run cold.

Tsume rolled her eyes. "For the last time, I am not getting caught between your domestic disputes. Although, I have to say, this little brat is a good catch. Are you going to claim him before anyone else can?" Tsume asked, enjoying the wide eyed panic she saw in the kid.

"Ano," Harry said, nervously breaking into the conversation. "Did Saori just hit on me and did you just approve?" he asked, looking at Tsume.

Tsume shrugged. "You saved Saroi's daughter. Who am I to stand in the way of her showing her appreciation?"

Harry racked his memories for any knowledge of Inuzuka clan's inclination or not toward bestiality, but he could find nothing. Thinking fast he said, "Ah, I'm a minor. I don't think I'm really prepared for this…I mean, emotionally, you understand? I mean, I'm not saying you're not beautiful and I don't want to-uh- you know, but really, it's just so sudden, and really, I-" He couldn't go on as laughter erupted around him

Harry felt his face burn in embarrassment when his stuttering excuses were interrupted by Hana's laughter. The young girl had buried her face in Tsume's shoulders and tears rolled down her face in mirth. Tsume was grinning and chuckling while Saori was chuffing again.

"That was really mean," Harry said, rolling eyes at himself for his gullibility.

"C'mon, kid, let me get you some food. I think I will ask Hokage-sama to give you a permanent D-rank mission to come help out Hana at the clinic. Maybe we can develop that healing instinct of yours. Good job, Uzumaki," Tsume said, putting a hand on his back and leading him out of the room.

"Wait!" Hana waved. "Is this Uzumaki Naruto? The one who led Kiba in the attack on Hokage Tower?" she asked with mirth still in her eyes.

Tsume hit Harry up the head gently. "Yeah, this is the brat."

"Sorry," Harry said, wondering if the kid with the puppy on the infiltration mission was related to them.

Hana smirked. "My brother is looking for you pay you back for that. Mom just about killed him."

The woman with the vertical slit pupils took Harry by the shoulder and guided him to a kitchenette in what looked like the clinic's break room. "Don't worry about, Kiba. I wasn't too harsh with him. Hell, I was proud he worked well enough with others to pull that stunt with you."

Harry smiled, beginning to like the woman. "Thanks, Tsume-chan," he said, using Naruto's winsome smile and a very familiar honorific for the woman.

In turn she bared her teeth in a feral smile. "But, you will be making it up to me for almost getting my son skewered by an ANBU's sword. So let's see, these are the nights Hana works at the clinic…" the woman trailed off, running her finger across the calendar in the break room with names slotted in for shifts.

Harry just sighed and prepared to accept the consequences.

[scene break]


	6. Chapter 6

A.N. Once again, thank you for the great reviews and comments. Few of you complimented me on my penname, thank you, glad you got the reference. On pairings: I do like a lot of the ideas I got from you all, don't mind if I don't announce right away what the pairing will be though, I just want it to flow in the story. On with the show:~

Chapter 6.

Harry's heart thudded in his chest with anticipation and anxiety, as he rounded the corner of yet another alley. He was dressed in his usual black muscle T shirt with orange pants and an orange jacket, but over them he had chosen a black cloak with a hood to be less noticeable. The cloak was a nice throw back to his typical wardrobe from his first life and he couldn't help but feel a little mismatched when he had put on the ensemble. This awkwardness was lost in the moment however as he rushed to the place Mito-dono had spoken to him about; he was going to meet the last living relative.

The town he had apparated into was a sleepy thoroughfare to Fire country. Merchants and travellers simply stopped in town to rest and replenish before heading to more lucrative venues further in the country. The townspeople subsisted on the business these travelers brought in. Sun had set long ago and the night was old, only some bars and whore dens still bustled with noise. Mito-dono had begged Harry to go to one of these bars and watch out for her granddaughter.

Dust rose as Harry came to a running stop by a bar with its name buried under grime of many years. It wasn't the sort of place he would ever choose to stop by, so he wondered why Mito-dono's granddaughter would cool her heels there. It certainly did not seem to be the place for a woman of class to be in.

"Are you sure this is it, Mito-dono?" he whispered, making sure no one was on the dusky street as he spoke to the apparition next to him.

The regal woman inclined her head, her hair falling forward a little, with her face etched in an expression of disgust and sadness. "Yes, my little Tsun-tsun is here."

"And the bounty hunters you saw?" he asked while finding a shadowed doorway to melt into across the street. As an additional precaution he patted himself on the head and cast the disillusionment charm. The feeling of an egg breaking on his head came over him and he was satisfied knowing yet another spell worked for him. Now if only transfiguration would work as easily.

"Last I saw them they had entered the bar behind her. They will not attack her there. I am afraid she has cultivated a reputation for being a heavy drinker. They will wait till she is pissing drunk and maybe even passed out before making their move." Mito-dono scowled. Her language surprised Harry, the woman had never spoken to him in anything but the most cultured manner.

"Not very brave are they? These bounty hunters, I mean," Harry said.

Mito-dono's smiled wryly. "My lord, my little Tsun-tsun doesn't only have a reputation for drinking and gambling. She is an S class kunoichi, at the height of her power there was not a warrior who could match her physical strength."

"Oh." Harry fixed his eyes on the door, waiting for 'little Tsun-tsun.' "So that's why they would wait till she is too drunk to fight."

"No," Mito-dono said. "Even drunk she is deadly…in fact, deadlier, because she wouldn't hold back. Instead they would wait to see if she passes out. Sadly they have chosen a good day to hunt her. She always drinks herself into a stupor this day."

Harry was frowning. "If she is such an awesome Kunoichi, she should know better than to make herself so vulnerable. Why does she drink so much this day?"

"She lost my grandson, Nawaki, this day. He was the last thing she loved who had survived with her up to this day. When he passed the veil…she felt she had nothing left," Mito-dono explained.

Silence filled the space between them as both Harry and Mito-dono were lost in their own thoughts. Half an hour passed and now the moon was high in the sky. The half curtain hanging over the bar's door shifted to the side and a woman stumbled out.

"That's her," Mito-dono said.

Harry did not move from his spot, choosing to wait for the bounty hunters who were after her. Even though she was disheveled, the young woman was a vision bathed as she was in the waxing moonlight; mussed blond hair fell in two ponytails behind her, a lovely pale face slightly red from all the alcohol she had consumed, and a glint of moonlight betrayed the tear tracks marring her cheeks. Her body was hidden underneath a flowing green robe but Harry imagined a kunoichi of her reputation must be physically fit, even if he couldn't see it from his angle.

"So this is the only person I can claim as family, huh?" Harry muttered. "Wish I was a few years older, she's gorgeous."

Mito-dono tutted in disapproval and motioned with her hand at the men who spilled out of the bar like shadows to follow her granddaughter. Harry nodded and began to follow. The bounty hunter party of four, three men and a woman, were keeping their distance from the drunk woman. Harry could see that she was teetering on her high heeled sandals. Any hope that he had that she would notice her hunters and show him some S ranked skills was dashed when she slumped against a wall and started using it to guide her. This led her straight into an alley, almost as if she wanted the hunters to have a crack at her.

"That foolish child," Mito-dono cursed by his side. "Naruto, I think this will be the best place to act. Be careful, these hunters are missing-nin, and no low level nin would take her on."

"Don't worry, I have the element of surprise," Harry said, waiting patiently till the last nin rounded the corner to go into the alley. Following after them he found 'little Tsun-tsun, passed out in the door sill of a shop's back entrance, and the nins rushing her with weapons outstretched.

"Shit!" Harry cursed, seeing that he had taken too much time. He disapparated with a loud crack, giving himself away and appeared right in front of the blond woman. He watched a nin's thrust come at him with kunai outstretched. Almost in slow motion the kunai pierced his shoulder joint. Pain exploded and his hand wavered when he raised it in an instinctive warding gesture. "Expeliarmus!" he shouted, sending the darkly clothed nin flying back.

The nin slammed into the opposite wall, but even before he fell his comrade were upon Harry. Belatedly Harry noted that his disillusionment spell had fallen and he was in plain sight, holding his bloody shoulder. "Protego!" he snapped, with his good arm outstretched. The milky white transparent shield came into being and deflected a hail of kunai and shuriken.

The team of bounty hunters paused to take in the unfamiliar jutsu. Two unexpected surprised had greeted them, that Tsunade had a little boy for a bodyguard and two that he could perform unknown justu, but they weren't daunted. The shield seemed to be only covering them from one angle. With an unspoken message, the kunoichi amongst them ran up the opposite wall then jumped across so that she was directly above the boy and the legendary nin whose head they were there to take.

The kunoichi made hand signs then opened her mouth with a shout and threw out a fireball. She watched the blond kid's eyes widen at the attack that had come from above. She smiled in satisfaction when they disappeared in the flames, expecting that she had immolated them. But when the fire cleared she was stunned to see another shield aimed above at her. The boy had two jutsus running simultaneously, held by each hand. "My, my, aren't you a little prodigy. But I can see your arm shaking from that wound, brat. How long can you keep this up?" She didn't expect him to laugh.

"Oh this?" he asked, looking at his blood soaked shoulder. "This just tickles, stupefy!" A red bolt of lightning shot at her. She was surprised but instinct took over and like the wind she flew off the wall, the bolt missing her by a hair breadth.

"Let him have it, boys," she commanded, as she flipped and landed back on the alley ground. The other hunters had surrounded the pair, and a hail of projectile and jutsus were hurled at the child.

They did not hear the telltale crack of apparition, or sense him appear at the mouth of the alley with Tsunade's unconscious form. But they did hear when he yelled, 'Kage Bushin no jutsu' and a veritable army of yellow haired boys in black cloaks fell upon them.

Shouts of 'reducto,' 'inflamare,' filled the alley. Smiling grimly, Harry dragged Tsunade into the street, preparing himself to disapparate with her. It was a little difficult because the kunai that had hit him was lodged right in the shoulder joint, causing pain with every movement.

"Hand over the bitch, brat, you can't get out of this with a few fancy jutsus," a voice called out. Harry looked up to find the roofs of the buildings around him hosting many more bounty hunters than the four he had engaged.

"Tsunade-sama!" another voice screamed. Harry saw a young woman rapidly approaching him in that body flicker technique he had seen ninjas use.

"She is Tsun-tsun's apprentice. My lord, I suggest you escape with both of them. As you are, you cannot fight and protect her at the same time," Mito-dono said, appearing in Harry's vision.

"Damn it, it's the bitch's servant girl. Take care of her!" the man on the roof ordered.

Harry had one hand firmly on Tsunade's shoulder and he reached out with the other to the woman who had just stopped to cover both him and her master. As Harry grabbed the back of the woman's arm, he felt multitude of sharp pains erupt on his back. The nins in the alley who had escaped his shadow clones had attacked his open back.

Brutally pushing away the pain, Harry disapparated with both women back to Konoha to his apartment.

(scene break)

Harry was lying on his stomach in his apartment with his shirt off. Shizune, as he learned the name of the young woman who had come to his aid, was healing his back. His shadow clone was in the kitchen brewing a couple of potions, having already made sure that the blond woman was resting peacefully in his bedroom.

"Are you sure this doesn't hurt?" the brunette woman asked him for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Harry sighed. "Of course it hurts," he admitted finally.

"Well, you are very brave, you haven't complained yet," she said, stitching the cuts.

"Trust me, I have felt much worse. And are _you_ sure I can't convince you to stop stitching up these wounds. I swear they will heal fast," Harry groused.

"You are not a medic-nin," she said repressively.

Harry sighed and let it go; at least she was far gentler than Madam Pomphrey. He had honestly been happy for the woman's conversation because it distracted him from his terrible performance in the rescue. He underestimated how fast ninjas could move, and how little they would be thrown off by his magic. Sure, they had been surprised by it but just as soon they had moved to circumvent it. And, somehow, his reaction time had been dulled. In some ways he just wasn't fully comfortable with his shortened height and reach, not to mention the experience of shooting out spells from his hands, when instinct told him to make this or that twirling motion before casting magic.

"I need to get better," he said to himself. "Have to get comfortable with these new powers."

"Indeed you do, my lord. That said, you performed admirably for an academy student. Though your performance left much to be desired when one considers you are the Master of Death," Mito-dono teased.

Harry turned his head to shoot the older and dead woman a glare where she was kneeling on Shizune's opposite side.

"Um, are you talking about the jutsu you used to bring us here, wherever this is?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah," Harry said simply. "Are you done yet?"

Shizune patted his head as if he was a pet. "Just be patient, I am making sure the scars are thin. The better I sew the wounds, the better they will look. It's the least I can do for protecting Tsunade-sama."

"Thanks," Harry said, feeling drowsy.

"So, where are we? Your twin wouldn't say," she asked, putting bandages over the wounds.

The 'twin' chuckled in the kitchen. "I'm his shadow-clone, Shizune-san."

Harry felt the woman's hands stop their ministrations on his back. He guessed she was surprised. "Oi! Twin!" Harry yelled. "Let's keep a lid on secrets, yeah?"

"Sorry, boss. Pepper-up is almost done, though," the clone called back.

Shizune helped Harry sit up even though his back and shoulder protested the movement. Finally Harry was able to get a good look at her; she seemed to be in her late twenties, long bangs fell into her black eyes, making them harder to read. Her expression was open and kind, however, and Harry instinctively wanted to trust the woman.

"It's not normal for someone your age to be able to do the Shadow Clone technique," she started.

Harry shrugged and regretted right after when it sent a shooting pain through his body. "I have a lot of chakra, it helps me break it down and learn to control." As he said this, he raised his hand to his shoulder, the one place he could reach, and cast the one healing spell he knew. He sighed in relief, feeling the muscles and skin knit back as if there had never been a wound.

"Wow, you know healing jutsu as well? Who are you?" Shizune asked, now kneeling forward and removing the bandage on his shoulder to check out the wound. "Damn it, I need to get rid of the stitches now." She took out more tools from her medic bag and began working, not bothered by how close she was to Harry's personal space.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto…I don't know if that means anything to you, but I am from the same clan as your master's grandmother," he said.

"Oh, and what were you doing out so late at night where you just happened to run into Tsunade-sama?" she asked with a little frown of suspicion, even as she focused on the shoulder wound.

"Someone told me that she was in trouble, and seeing as she's the only family connection I have left, I came to help," Harry said.

"Well, I am glad that you did. Tsunade-sama gave me the slip and went drinking by herself. I was very worried," she shared, sitting back on her heals, having finished with the healed wound. "You're not from Konoha, are you? The only Uzumaki of your age I know is there."

Harry laughed. "Shizune-san, you _are_ in Konoha right now. And though I would love to know how you know of me, I have only two hours left before I have to be up to go to the Academy. So I am going to pass out now. When little Tsun-tsun wakes up, give her the drink my clone just made, there's enough there for all of us. Good night." And with that Harry crawled over to the couch to sprawl on it and fall dead asleep.

Shizune whipped around to the clone to start questioning him, but the blond copy smiled and dispelled. Now in disbelief, Shizune walked out to the patio, to watch her home village in the light of early dawn. "How is this possible?" she directed to the world.

(scene break)

When Harry woke up Shizune was nowhere in sight. He dragged himself to the kitchen and knocked back the glass of Pepper-up potion waiting for him. It gave him instant energy to start his day. More clearheaded now, he wondered if bringing Shizune and Tsunade all the way back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves had been a good idea at all. Shizune now knew of his apparition ability, which really shouldn't get out, but he was loath to obliviate her, not knowing how the Elder Wand would overcharge the delicate spell. He really did not need an amnesiac on his hands.

"Good morning," a voice startled him.

Harry jumped in the air and turned to the source. "Mito-dono, don't scare me like that."

"When will you call me grandmother again?" she asked with a playful frown.

Harry sighed and went into the bathroom to shower. "It's too early to spar, grandmother."

The apparition followed him into the bathroom, making Harry quickly close the curtain in front of the shower. "What the Hell are you doing in here?"

"We need to talk," she said. "I would like permission to speak to Little Tsun-tsun."

"Fine, whatever, just get out of the bathroom!" Harry yelled.

He didn't see the smirk of satisfaction on the woman's face. "Have a good day at school, Naruto," she said and disappeared from the bathroom.

(Scene break)

It was Harry's first day at the Academy in full possession of his memories. The week of suspension was over, and he found Naruto's enthusiasm infecting him. His younger self always saw these moments as opportunities to impress and befriend his peers. His loneliness was so apparent to Harry that it was painful. He wished someone from his peers had reached out to Naruto, to himself. Sometimes it was easier to deal with the loneliness of his second life by imagining he was two different people. But it was getting harder and harder to do.

So he embraced Naruto's excitement and entered the classroom happily. "Please, stay seated, no need to stand on ceremony," he called out. An eraser came flying at him. Harry ducked easily and glared at the person throwing it. It was one of the history instructors.

"No one was going to stand for you, Uzumaki. Get to your seat. After you fail this year at least you will get thrown out of the Academy, you only get three tries!" He pointed to the back of the classroom.

"Missed you too." Harry stuck out a tongue, and climbed the stairs in the aisle to get to the back bench. He waved to his new classmates as he walked by, noting the glares and smiles. The glares from the 'Queen Bee' Kunoichi and Sakura were the worst. Seeing Sakura made Harry's heart do a little flip flop, and despite himself his smile became goofier at the sight of his crush. _She's a kid, get a hold of yourself, you aren't a ten year old Naruto anymore,_ Harry yelled at himself. _But she's so cute, and smart, and kind, and cute, _another voice answered back. He wrenched his eyes away from the rage filled green of Sakura's eyes and tripped into his seat.

The instructor was already lecturing, pretending that the disruption at Naruto's entrance hadn't happened. Even though Harry had resolved to do better at the Academy, he couldn't really take a man who hated him so obviously seriously. If it weren't the wounds itching on his back he would have sprawled over the desk, just like the kid next to him. Harry watched him in surprise; was he actually asleep?

As if in answer the boy turned his head, fixing him with a lazy stare. "So when do we find out if we made it in?"

"Huh?" Harry looked confusedly at the boy with the high ponytail.

"The test for admission into ANBU junior corps, Uzumaki-san," another boy asked. Harry recognized him as the one who had used a lot of insects in the attack on the tower. Shino was his name; something he had learned from the boy's father after his job at the Aburame clan's neighborhood.

Harry chuckled. "C'mon guys, I was suspended for a week. You don't think it was real, do you?"

"That does not follow logic," Shino said evenly.

"Yeah, doesn't make a lot of sense," the half dozing boy said.

Harry raised a brow in question. "Really?"

"Consider," Shino began, "that you led the attack at a time that the tower was least protected and disabled the only guards who were challenging with ease. Such knowledge of the tower's inner workings is not common. If you weren't truly an ANBU you would not know the best time to launch a direct attack on the tower."

"Mhm," the lazing boy agreed. "Not to mention that all you got for taking on the freaking Hokage Tower was a week-long suspension and none of us got any official flak. I mean, if you really were on an unsanctioned mission or prank, like most of these idiots think you were, you would be executed. How could they allow someone to break into the Hokage's own office and then let him off with a slap on the wrist like you were?"

Harry had started smiling in glee at some point and could not stop. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Me? I'm Nara Shikamaru, and 'bug boy' is Aburame Shino," he said.

"Nice to meet you both. So now tell me, what if the Sandaime simply has a soft heart and decided that killing a ten year old pranking idiot was too much?" he asked.

Shino nodded, half his face hidden behind the wide collared jacket he wore. "That may explain why your punishment was not severe, though it would be logical to make an example of you."

"And that still doesn't explain how you knew the best time to hit the Hokage Tower." Shikamaru smiled. "My old man tried the same arguments with me, man. They didn't work on me or my mother. She thinks the same thing that I do, that your little speech when we got caught and your punishment was just an act to test us."

"Test you?" Harry asked in utter amusement.

"To see if we could see past the deception. To be an ANBU one must have a sharp mind as well as the physical ability you already tested when we infiltrated the Hokage Tower successfully," Shino explained.

"So, you see, we're not fooled. We can see the second depth, especially when it's so obvious," the Nara boy smirked.

Harry just chuckled, it wasn't an unreasonable conclusion given what they knew of him. How could they know that the Sandaime was his grandfather in everything but blood? "So anyone other than you two figure it out?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know, but Hinata has been looking over here since you got in. She isn't glaring so I think she suspects something is up." At his words the girl who was just sitting a little ahead and to the side of them ducked her head and looked away, obviously hearing what Shikamaru had said.

"I heard that Hinata-san's father was called in to help the two Chunnin she took down during the attack. The Hokage even complimented the power she showed," Shino said. "It was quite surprising, Hinata-san is usually very gentle and shy, but that day she seemed driven."

"You know," Harry said. "You don't talk like a ten year old, Shino."

"He's an Aburame, enough said," Shikamaru said. Shino only shrugged.

Harry looked at the dark haired girl they were talking about. Naruto impression of her was that she was dark and weird. Not unreasonable considering he had only seen her hiding behind telephone poles, stalking him, or ducking her head, hiding behind her dark hair. The most noticeable thing about her were her white eyes, distinctive of the Hyuuga clan. Bluish-black hair cut short with two long strands in the front framed her face. Looking at her with greater care than Naruto had, Harry realized that she wasn't really weird, she was simply interested in him. And when he pondered why that may be, he remembered a moment from his childhood when he had protected her from bullies. Although he had gotten beaten up, he had turned their attention from her to himself. He smiled thinking maybe the little girl was too shy to make friends with him like she seemed to want to. He decided that he would take that step for her.

"Yo, lover boy," Shikamaru called, pulling Harry out of his thoughts. When he turned back to the boys they were both laughing at him. "So…when do we find out?"

Before Harry could answer, Shino asked, "Shikamaru, you seem very interested in becoming an ANBU junior. I would think it would be too much effort for you. Wouldn't it be _troublesome_?" The Aburame chuckled, but Harry missed the inside joke.

"Are you kidding?" Shikamaru asked. "I want one of those masks. Just think, I could go to sleep wearing one and no one would know and bother me. Maybe even my mother would leave me alone."

"Ah, that explains everything," Shino said.

Harry gave the lazy boy an incredulous look. "You just want the mask so you can take a nap and look like you're paying attention."

"Yup," the Nara said without any shame. "By the way, there's blood seeping through the back of your jacket. Are you ok?"

"Damn," Harry cursed, and tried to look over his shoulder. "The wounds must have opened up when I took a shower this morning and put on fresh clothes."

"Wounds?" Shino asked. "How did you get them?"

Harry searched for an answer that wasn't 'I fell down the stairs' before smiled conspiratorially and saying, "Since you two figured out so much already, I guess there's no harm in saying I got them on a mission to extract two Kunoichi. Don't tell anyone though."

Both young boys nodded seriously and Shikamaru said, "We have taijutsu practice next. I will spar with you. That way you can avoid revealing your injuries and we can take it easy. Just the way I like it."

"I have an extra jacket in my locker, you should wear it to hide the blood," Shino said.

"Thanks, guys," Harry said sincerely. This was the first time he had made friends his own age. It was too bad there wasn't really a junior ANBU division…but maybe there could be.

(scene break)

Lunch break found Harry with a light green jacket with a high upturned collar. Harry had tried again and again to turn down the collar but it looked like the tall Aburame boy had it starched. So he simply unzipped the front to make sure half his face wasn't hidden. For his next meeting he wanted to be as approachable as possible.

Swinging his sandwich in one hand he looked around and found Hyuuga Hinata sitting by herself under a tree. "Hi! Can I join you?" he asked, walking up to the girl. When she blushed a deep red and stammered something, Harry guessed it was a 'yes' and plopped down. "Ne, I don't know if you remember me, but we met once a long time ago."

Hinata waved her hands frantically. "N-n-no, I re-remember you, Uzumaki-san," she said, apparently afraid that she'd already given offense.

"Great," Harry said. "So would you like to be friends?" The girl just looked at him wide-eyed which looked all the more dramatic because her eyes were all white, but her face blushed an even deeper red than before. "Hey, it's okay," Harry said. "I won't bite. Just nod you head if you don't mind having me as a friend." The girl did nod and with gusto. "Yes!" Harry pumped his fist. "I knew I liked you for a reason." This, apparently, was a terrible thing to say, because the girl fainted.

A quick enervate charm and a drink of water later had the girl awake and more in control of herself. "I'm s-s-sorry, Uzumaki-san."

"We're friends now, Hinata-chan, you don't have to be sorry for needing a little help, and you shouldn't call me Uzumaki-san anymore, it makes me feel like we're not friends," Harry said with a smile so that the girl didn't feel like she was insulting him.

"O-kay, Naruto-kun." She smiled for the first time and it made her otherwise plain face look adorable.

"So," Harry said, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I heard your father had to fix those Chunnins you took out in the attack."

Hinata blushed and smiled. "Father was very angry I followed you but he complimented me for the first time."

"Really?" Harry asked, hiding what he thought of her father only complimenting her once.

"He said that if I was going to be a f-f-fool and attack the Tower, at least I did a good job." She giggled softly.

Harry laughed along but inside felt his heart go out to the girl for being happy with the back handed compliment her father had given her. He began to understand why he had taken note of her; the girl was like Naruto, like his first self even, desperate for someone to acknowledge her. Like Naruto and like his other childhood, she led a lonesome one. "Well then, we will just have to do other things Hyuuga-sama will like."

"Ano, are we going to attack the Hokage Tower again?" she asked frightfully.

Harry was amused. "No, I think once was enough, but a couple of guys want to be in the ANBU junior corps still and I was wondering if you wanted to be too. Maybe we could get together and have fun."

She nodded her head making her framing strands sway. "I would like that Naruto-kun. Will we also be trained by the ANBU? I-I-I..." she trailed off and blushed.

"What is it? You can trust me," Harry said.

"My father was proud of me because I was strong. I-I-If the ANBU train us, he will-" she stopped abruptly, hanging her head. Harry could see the tears in the corner of her eyes. The girl really needed her father to love her.

"Hinata-chan," Harry said, channeling his older side. "I think you are very brave and strong already, and I think you're smart enough to know I was playing with the whole ANBU thing."

"I-I-it's okay, I don't mind playing," she said quickly, but did not raise her head.

"But," Harry went on as if she hadn't said anything. "I have a few friends who train me and if you want…you could train with me, because I want to become strong too."

The girl looked up sharply and said an emphatic, "Hai!"

Harry smiled. "It's settled then. Oh, and don't tell Shikamaru or Shino, they think ANBU Juniors are real." He rolled her eyes.

Hinata giggled softly. "I believed them when they talked about it last week. I thought ANBU junior was real too."

"Well, it will be our little secret." Harry winked at her. The real open smile on Hinata's face told him that she was very happy having a secret with him. For the first time since he had woken up in this new world, Harry felt like himself; he had saved someone, even if it was just from being alone.

(scene break)

Harry stood in a grove of trees by the Academy with the apparition of Severus Snape next to him. He was looking out of the grove to make sure no one was following him before casting the privacy charms. "So, what's up?"

Snape inclined his head a little in greeting. "Our plan to use your 'prank' infiltration of the Hokage Tower to explain away your new skills has had an unexpected but useful side effect. You were essentially the talk of the town afterwards. I learned much."

"All good I hope," Harry said with a wry smile.

The expression on Snape's face showed that he shared Harry's humor. "Some good, some bad. You will be pleased to know that your golden boy status extends all realms of reality, and yet again the man in charge is willing to grant you latitude."

Harry sighed with relief; Sarutobi Hiruzen's motivations were a big concern for him. He was going to be deeply disappointed if the kindly grandfather role the man played in his life was just an act to control him. "Why, Snape, you almost didn't sound resentful giving me that news."

Snape sneered for a moment before his face fell to a blank haunted look. "Death…changed much," he said.

Harry felt bad for inadvertently reminding Snape of whatever horrors he had suffered in the afterlife. "What else? You said there was bad."

"Yes, the major clan heads, some of whose compounds you have visited over the last few days, were not amused. In fact some were quite disturbed. There is a superstition in this culture that foxes are magical and are inclined to play tricks on humans. Seeing as you hold a demon fox, the majority of people I have spied on believe that the fox is acting through you, or you're conforming to the fox, and that your childish pranks are just an indication that you cannot be trusted." Snape shrugged. "Fear often makes fools of even wise men, as does hate…unfortunately, we know that too well."

"I suppose I should find out if there really are magical foxes. Maybe there is a way to prove to them I am not a fox," Harry said.

"There is more. The Hokage mentioned this in private to someone who he trusts that he was glad none of the clan heads knew about your special 'henge' technique. Apparently you named it the 'sexy technique?'" Snape gave him one of his judgmental raised eye brow looks.

Harry frowned at the man. "Of course I didn't…oh…wait…yeah I did." Harry smacked his head. "It's some transformation technique Naruto modified to look like an attractive female version of himself."

"Understandable," Snape said in a manner that conveyed it was anything but. "It would seem whatever modification Naruto performed changed the very nature of the technique to become a true transformation. Folklore about magical foxes speaks of them transforming into humans, especially attractive women, to lead men astray."

"Oh that's just great!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "So if they ever found out about it, they would think this is just another example of the fox demon acting out."

"That was precisely the Hokage's concern and, like him, I am glad no one knows the detail of your sexy technique," Snape said.

"Please don't ever use the word 'sexy' in my presence. It just sounds so wrong coming from you." Harry had his face in his hands.

"Do grow up, my lord," Snape responded evenly. "A certain Hyuuga Hiashi was particularly adamant that you needed to be exiled or removed from regular social contact with the village. He blamed you for leading his daughter astray into a potential fatal situation. The Hokage lost some political capital with the man when he refused to budge, which is a significant piece of news when you realize that currently this Hyuuga clan is the foremost clan in the village."

Harry's frown had deepened as Snape explained. "I am not much a fan of that man already. I've met with his daughter. He treats her like crap. I need you to look into her as well."

"I'll need more man power. There are quite a few ghosts here I could recruit…with you authority of course," Snape said, as if he enjoyed the words coming out of his mouth.

"Yes, please, but Snape they will be utterly loyal to me, otherwise I will find a way to make them miserable even if they are dead." He turned his head to look directly at Snape's dark eyes. "And it will be your responsibility to make sure they don't betray me."

"It will be done, milord," Snape said, losing the familiar tone he had been using so far.

"Good." Harry nodded. "His daughter's name is Hinata. I need to know what goes on with her if I am to help her. Now, what else did you learn?"

"Now we come to something that I wish to investigate deeply. Sarutobi met with several elderly retired ninja who are on an advisory council. The advocated strongly that you need to be trained as Jinchuriki of other villages are, as a weapon, and that your emotional outbursts which result in tricks on the village need to be stamped out with psychological training," Snape said, a frown on his face. "They were especially worried about the fact that you read the Forbidden Scroll, and spoke about handing you over to some man named Danzo who could give you proper 'conditioning.'"

"How did the Hokage react to this?" Harry asked.

"He shot them down, but the arguments were long and again his position with the two council ninja was weakened. With my experience I can tell that there are machinations already in place working against your beloved grandfather, and that this Danzo is both a threat to him and you." Snape gave him a measured stare. "The two council ninja I would count as clear enemies. They are interested in simply using you or killing you if you get out of hand and Danzo is the vehicle which would make this happen. Given this there is only one choice open to you…"

Harry nodded slowly, accepting Snape's unspoken message, "We need to destroy them." He thought for a long time about his choices. "The ninja world, from what I can see is very dangerous. In this village I have a leader who is in my court, that's a powerful ace I have."

"You will probably not enjoy such backing in any other village. I agree, for the time being, it would seem that staying in the Village Hidden in the Leaves is safest for you, despite the many enemies you enjoy here," Snape said.

Harry sighed and then resolved himself. "Figure out what it will take to get rid of these enemies, Snape."

"And what if I cannot discover a political solution to our problem?" Snape asked.

"I have tortured and killed in my previous life, professor. I am prepared to do what is necessary. But I would rather not go on a killing spree if there is a better choice." Harry turned and walked out of the grove.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Harry rested on the roof of his apartment, lost in contemplation. The events of the past night played in his mind. With little time to react he hadn't thought out much. In the heat of the moment only one thing was important: He had some form of family out there and she was in trouble.

The morning after brought all sorts of uncomfortable issues to light: How did he explain his apparation magic? Or how he had known she was in trouble? And, lastly, what was he supposed to do with her now?

Too late he realized that letting Mito-dono talk to her granddaughter was going to only make things worse. Hopefully the older woman had come up with an excuse for him.

With a sigh he leapt off the roof and with a somersault landed on his patio. It was time to see his relative. Entering through the window he found Shizune-san cooking in his kitchen and the blond woman he had saved sitting on his couch, staring at the opposite wall. Mito-dono stood in a corner, but the living women in his apartment didn't seem to know she was there.

At his entrance the blond woman looked up and caught his eye. They stared at each other wordlessly. _This is even more uncomfortable than I thought it would be,_ Harry thought.

Mito-dono walked to him to take her place by his side. "My granddaughter cannot see me right now. I have spoken to her and explained that I am haunting you. Call her Tsun-Tsun nee-chan, it should break her out of her stupor and verify what I told her of you, which is that you think of her as your elder sister."

"Uzumaki-kun?" Shizune-san called from the kitchen, frowning at the sight of her master and her host in a staring contest.

"Hello, Shizune-san. Sorry, I was just stunned by how beautiful my Tsun-Tsun nee-chan is." Harry gave a big smile and rubbed the back of his neck in a put on nervous gesture.

The blond woman sputtered, "Tsun-Tsun? No one has called me that since I was five!"

"That's too bad, nee-chan. It's such a pretty name. Did you drink the medicine I left for you?" he asked, walking into his living room. He had to act like he was not unnerved by the woman tracking him with her eyes like a predator.

The woman gave him a fierce smile. "You have to tell me how you made it. That has to be the most incredible hangover cure I have ever had. It was like last night never happened."

"Yes, it was very good, Uzumaki-kun." Shizune-san bobbed her head happily. "I haven't slept at all and I still feel fresh after having it."

"Sure, I'll share. Something smells delicious, Shizune-san. Is there some for me?" Harry asked. He sat down on the low dinner table in his lounge. The blond woman moved from her place on the couch to join him. In daylight Harry was able to see that underneath her green robes, her gray kimono hid little of her very curvaceous figure. He made sure that he kept his eyes right on her face and didn't let them wander.

"We thought you would be home sooner," Tsunade said her face expressionless.

Harry ducked his head as he knew Naruto did when he was embarrassed. "Sorry, I'm not used to someone waiting at home for me. I was just wandering."

His answer made Tsunade frown but she didn't say anything, making the moment awkward. It was Shizune, again, who smoothed over the situation. "That's alright. It gave me more time to get everything ready. It's just a thank you for last night," the brunette said with a smile, bringing out steaming dishes from the kitchen.

Harry did not have to pretend to be excited. While he was not bad at cooking at all, he rarely made an effort for himself. The sight and smell of dinner cooked with care made his mouth water. "Thank you so much, Shizune-san!"

"Uzumaki-" Tsunade began.

"Eh?" Harry interrupted with a scowl. "Is that any way to talk to your little brother, nee-chan?" Even Shizune was giving her master a disappointed look.

Tsunade huffed. "Fine…Naruto. Shizune told me what you did for me last night. That was very foolish, you could have died." The edge of the table where she was resting her hands suddenly broke. She had crushed it unknowingly in anger.

Harry cocked a brow and watched her for a moment. "Heh, if it takes doing something foolish to put any sort of expression on that beautiful face of yours, nee-chan, then I will be happy to do it again and again. I was beginning to think you were just a porcelain doll." He looked away from her to the soup Shizune had placed in front of him. He sighed contently taking a drink of it.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune prompted.

"Losing your life over some thugs is pointless waste. Don't tell me to sugarcoat it, Shizune," Tsunade snapped.

"Pointless?" Harry scoffed but held his tongue to keep from saying more. A sudden fury had taken him at the way Tsunade had dismissed what he had done for her. "I've never had a family, not anyone I could pretend was family either, really, so I might not know how one is supposed to act towards a relative. But, I thought taking care of your own is something all families are supposed to do."

It was Tsunade's turn to scoff. She looked at him with the same blank indifferent expression she had been wearing since he had walked in. "Family? Where do you get off claiming that we are family, kid? You don't even know me."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune gasped in reproach.

Harry felt his blood run cold at Tsunade's words, and deep disappointment and shame filled him. A decade of being alone and wanting real human connection had made his emotions raw and easy to manipulate. Naruto hadn't had Harry's experiences or strength to ignore the unkindness of others, he hadn't even had the wonderful experience of being accepted by friends the way Harry had. And all those needs had unbeknownst to Harry become attached to Tsunade as soon as Mito-dono had said that he had a living relative out there.

But now he sat in his home being rejected by the woman who little Naruto had pinned so many of his hopes to. Harry marshaled his embarrassment and disappointment. He had hung his head and crossed his arms, protecting himself from the harsh words, but he raised his head and smiled at the cold woman. "My apologies, I forgot being related by blood doesn't mean one is family. I imposed on you. Forgive me, Tsunade-san."

Some indecipherable emotion crossed Tsunade's face, Harry hoped it was embarrassment. He looked to Shizune who was much easier to read, the young woman was simply hurt. Tsunade couldn't bear him looking at her any longer, so turned away to begin eating. The sounds of cutlery were loud in the silence that followed. Harry allowed it until anger at the woman forced him to say, "But I won't apologize for saving you."

"What?" Tsunade asked.

"We might not be family but we are blood." He gave her a look of fierce determination. "And I will never abandon my blood, especially if you are in trouble and pain. So, no, I don't apologize for saving you, idiot Tsun-Tsun."

Tsunade's eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open at the little boy's words and the emotion in them. This was the third time in less than a half hour he had stoked her emotions making her uneasy. Finally she settled on being angry to get over her discomfort, "Hey! Who the hell are you calling idiot, you little bug?"

Harry smirks inside, seemed like he had gotten to the woman He couldn't say the vicious things he wanted to but he could taunt her as Naruto would have, after all, that was the only revenge he would get, petty as it may be. "Some S-class kunoichi you are. Stumbling around drunk like an _idiot_, and then having to be saved by a 'little bug' like me. I was so disappointed," he groused, playing with his food.

"You really want to die, don't you, insect?" Tsunade cracked her knuckles.

Harry lazily raised a brow and regarded her coolly. "What're you going to do, break more of my furniture? Bah! And I heard you were the strongest kunoichi ever, what a let-down, passing out in front of bad guys."

Harry didn't see Shizune move but suddenly found himself in her lap with the woman covering him, her back turned to Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama!" she warned. "He's still injured, you cannot hurt him, please," she begged.

Harry hugged Shizune, burying his face in her shoulder. "Wah! Save me from the drunk blond demon woman, Shizune-nee-san."

"There, there, she won't hurt you." Shizune patted his head.

"Keep him away from me, Shizune. God, I need a drink," Tsunade sighed, her anger leaving her.

"I'm not making you more medicine if you get drunk again," Harry said, from his place on Shizune's lap. In answer Tsunade just glared at him. Harry looked up at Shizune's worried face. "Ne, Shizune nee-san, why are all beautiful women so violent, well, all except you?"

Shizune just blushed and grinned. "Don't aggravate Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun. Come finish your dinner."

They ate in much more comfortable silence for a while before someone knocked and without invitation walked in. Harry looked up to see a line of his clones entering the apartment with angry looks on their face. "What the Hell, Boss! Did you forget us?"

"Oh, crap," Harry swore and palmed his face. "Yeah, sorry, guys."

"It has been four days straight, boss! Number 32 finally ran out of chakra and disappeared. How much longer were we supposed to stay on the lake?" another clone shouted.

"Look, I said I was sorry," Harry said. "Now, there's homework to be done, get to it." He went back to his meal.

"Oh, no you don't! You can't ignore us for four days and then throw more work at us. Get him, boys!" the first clone shouted, and dozens of clones piled into the apartment, all trying to attack their creator.

"This is mutiny!" Harry shouted, jumping up and holding himself to the ceiling with chakra.

"We want workers' rights!" the clones shouted en masse.

"QUIET!" Tsunade shouted over all of them, stopping the impromptu battle. Harry looked to see that the dinner table was upended and that food was everywhere, including on Tsunade and Shizune's clothes. Tsunade had two clones caught by their collars.

"Whoa, who's the babe, boss?" a clone asked.

"Two babes, man, a pretty elder sister type and a total blond porn star type. Boss, you lucky dog!" one of the clones in Tsunade's grasp whistled appreciatively.

"Damn, boss, if this is the reason you forgot about us, I don't mind. I'm gonna dispel real quick, I want to see the memories of what you got up to," a third clone cackled.

Tsunade threw the clones in her hands at the mass around her, popping them like balloons. Harry watched in quiet horror as she decimated three dozen clones with just a few hits. As memories trickled into his mind he was happy to learn that he was able to fight on water fairly well now. "Uh oh," he said, seeing Tsunade's glare directed up at him. "Guess, I will celebrate later."

Luckily there was another knock on the door and some few walked in. Harry groaned seeing a bunch of more clones. "Boss, keep it down, will ya?" a clone said, his hands filled with a large book. "We're still trying to get through all these scrolls, you know. These walls between apartments are really thin."

"Yeah, sure, now get out of here. Wait, has anyone noticed you taking up another room?" Harry asked hurriedly, seeing that Tsunade's face was turning red with fury.

"Nah, boss, no one wants to live on the same floor as you. We're hanging out in all the empty ones. Well, see ya!" the clones on study duty left.

Shizune was just staring wide eyed, obviously stunned by the number of clones. Tsunade had her lips in a thin line. She pointed at the floor, motioning Harry to come off the ceiling. With a sheepish smile Harry landed on the ground and immediately hid behind Shizune. "I didn't do it," he said.

"Actually, Naruto-kun, since they were all your clones, you sort of did," Shizune said, looking at the wasted food in dismay.

"Naruto," Tsunade snapped. "Have you been keeping clones active while you're injured?"

"Look, I forgot, a lot has been happening," Harry said.

"Shizune, grab him, I want to check his wounds," Tsunade ordered.

Harry resigned himself to the two medic-nin's care, as once again he was forced to lie on his stomach.

And once again, Mito-dono was sitting in a corner of the room; she dropped her eyes in apology when Harry looked at her. Harry realizes that whatever Mito-dono had hoped to come out of his meeting with Tsunade did not happen.

(scene break)

Tsunade was awake even though the room was cast in darkness. She leaned against the sofa and watched the night sky through the window, trying to calm her turbid thoughts. She played with the idea of confessing that she met her grandmother's ghost to Shizune before dismissing it, thinking her apprentice would think she's crazy.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a shadow disturbed the moonlight streaming into the lounge. She found her old sensei standing on the terrace, staring at her from under his Hokage hat of office. Even he looked like a ghost in his white robes standing still in the silent night. Tsunade sighed inside, knowing she should have expected the man to find out she was in Konoha even though she hadn't left the apartment once. She slipped out the window to join her sensei on the patio.

"Sensei," she greeted and leaned against the railing.

"Tsunade, it's good to see you after so many years." His voice was warm. "Shizune was reported going in and out of Naruto's apartment. Where is she?"

"She and Naruto are asleep in his room," Tsunade answered quietly.

The old man drew a long pipe from his robes and lit it. Tsunade smiled softly at the sweet smell of tobacco which reminded her so much of her sensei. She also knew that the Hokage was resolving himself for the more difficult part of their conversation, just as she was. "What are you doing here, Tsunade? Specifically at Naruto's home?" he finally asked.

Tsunade tapped her fingers on her opposite arm, wondering just how much a fool her old sensei would think she is when she gave her explanation. The truth, as she knew it, couldn't be shared exactly. Not in the least because the spirit of her grandmother had ordered her to be discreet. "I had a dream…of my grandmother. She spoke of Naruto as her legacy…"

"Her legacy?" her sensei prompted.

"Jinchuriki legacy," Tsunade answered simply. "The dream felt very real. I was disturbed by it."

"So you came to check up on him?" the Hokage asked with a pleased smile. Tsunade could see that already the old man was thinking of ways to make the boy her responsibility and his hope that the child would draw her back to the village. She understood that was exactly what her grandmother had wanted as well. Sadly, she could not give them that satisfaction.

"Yes, and I realized it was foolish to let a dream affect me so much. He's an annoying brat. I was stupid to think I would see my grandmother in him." Tsunade frowned, making it clear to Sarutobi that he should give up his secret hopes.

"He could use a guiding hand, Tsunade, someone to look up to. You two are related, however distantly," the Hokage pressed, his own frown in place as well.

"I don't know how to deal with a child, sensei. Besides, I can't take him all over Fire Country with me, he has his school here," Tsunade said.

"If I remember right, you were very good with children. Nawaki couldn't have asked for a better elder sister," Sarutobi said and then watched in dismay that Tsunade had stiffened in ire.

"Don't mention him!" she snapped.

The Hokage sighed deeply. "We have all suffered tragedies. You must learn to live with yours, my dear child."

Tsunade looked away from the man, unwilling to get into a fight that usually resulted when they spoke of this subject. Even though it had been many years since they had talked, the old arguments were still there, waiting. She changed the subject, "Boy has a healing talent."

"Oh?" the Hokage followed her lead. "I've heard recently that he displayed an inclination for medical justu from the head of the Inuzuka clan, Tsume."

"I will leave him some of my old notes. Shizune carries them around. Maybe…maybe in a few years he will be worth my time to teach," she said and turned away to go back inside.

"Tsunade," her sensei called and appeared in front of her. He raised his liver-spotted hands to her cheeks and then kissed her forehead, making the woman blush and her heart waver. "I want to see you again before I leave this world, and if I don't, as my last wish, take care of Naruto."

"Hai, sensei," Tsunade whispered to herself, because the old Hokage had disappeared already.

(scene break)

Harry found Tsunade on the roof of his apartment in the early dawn. She had her arms crossed and a light frown on her brow as she surveyed the village. He did nothing to hide his presence as he came to stand next to her. "You didn't sleep at all?" he asked, enjoying the cool breeze playing on his skin.

"Too many memories," she said, as if to herself.

Harry gave her a sidelong look and realized she really was lost in some reverie. "Excuse me," he said, not wanting to intrude and stepped back.

"Kid…" Tsunade said, stopping him. "Thank you."

Harry simply nodded even though her eyes were focused elsewhere. It was easy for him to see that whatever memories she was thinking about were bad ones. He knew the feeling, he had many himself, and he hid from even the good ones.

"For what's it worth," Tsunade said in the dead tone she had been speaking in that morning, "I am sorry I couldn't be what you wanted."

In his heart Harry felt the same but out loud he said, "Don't let it bother you. You already have enough regrets. The last thing I want is to add to your burden."Finally Tsunade looked at him. Her eyes were tensed in a puzzled expression as if she did not know what to think of him. Despite how much she had disappointed the blond child in him, Harry found her lovely. "I'm going to head to school," he said when the woman's scrutiny got uncomfortable.

Tsunade nodded. "We will be gone by the time you get back. I'm leaving some notes for you. When you've mastered what's in them, find me."

Harry bowed deeply to show his thanks and said, "I hope you find peace. Farewell."

Before Tsunade could say anything he had disappeared from sight with a crack of sound. She smiled at the teleportation jutsu Shizune had mentioned. It was good to know her apprentice wasn't losing her mind.

(scene break)

Hinata waited afterschool for Naruto with a worried expression on her face. Nara Shikamaru and Aburame Shino were with her, one was lounging against a wall while Shino stood stoically by her side. It was a month after Naruto had made friends with her, two weeks of sheer bliss. She had soon found herself not only friends with Naruto but also Shikamaru and Shino. Neither of them were put off by her shyness, in fact Shikamaru seemed to like her _because_ she was so quiet. But not all of it had been as blissful as she liked to tell her it was.

Her father had called expressly forbidden her to speak to Naruto. Even Shikamaru's father had discouraged him from being friends with the blond boy. She wondered what Shikamaru's father had meant by, "It is a very bad time to be seen consorting with Uzumaki." Luckily, Shikamaru hadn't paid too much attention to his father, and Hinata was outright disobeying and simply hoped her father never found out.

"He has been with the instructors too long," Shino commented from inside his deep hood. "I know that the teachers don't like him, but I don't understand why. His grades in class are excellent and he is not as brash as he seemed last year when we were his juniors."

Hinata was wringing her hands in worry. "Do you think he's gotten into trouble?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Can't see why, he hasn't pulled a prank for a long time, and he said he did well on the tests we took this week."

Shino looked at his new friends. "Maybe they are speaking to him about the reason your father told you to stay away from him, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru grunted. "What's up with the adults? I can't hang out with Chouji and Naruto at the same time because his father has forbidden him to be around Naruto too."

"Something is up, even my mother spoke to me yesterday, and told me it was not in the clan's interest to be seen with him," Shino shared.

Their words were only making Hinata more troubled. She really didn't want to lose Naruto's friendship; he was the one who gave her courage to stand up for herself. "Ano, you two won't give up on him, will you? Shikamaru-san, Shino-san?" she couldn't help the trembled in her voice.

"I will not," Shino said. "Why? Because I want to know the reason the adults want to keep us apart."

Shikamaru just said, "Don't worry, Hinata-san."

The door to the teacher's lounge opened and shut with a bang. The three child soldiers in training watched Iruka-sensei stalk out angrily. He had turned on the path that would take him directly to the Hokage Tower.

Before she knew what she was doing, Hinata was running to catch up to one of her favorite teachers. "Iruka-sensei! Is Naruto okay?" she shouted.

Iruka froze in his steps and rounded on the girl with a cloud of fury on his face. Hinata shrunk upon herself seeing true anger on the man's face. "Forgive me, Hinata," I am not upset with you. "It's just that Naruto has been suspended from the Academy indefinitely."

"What? Why?" Shikamaru had caught up with Hinata.

"He has been suspended for cheating on his assignments and the latest tests," Iruka said, his fists closed in anger.

"That is not true. I was sitting by Naruto during the tests, he did not cheat," Shino said.

"I agree," Iruka-sensei said, surprising the children. "Naruto promised me that he was going to start working harder and he kept his promise, but the other instructors don't believe it."

"C-c-can't you do something, Iruka-sensei?" Hinata asked, on the verge of tears.

Iruka gave a strained smile and rested a comforting hand on the slight girl's shoulder. "I am going to do just that. I'm glad Naruto has found such good friends as all of you."

"Umino Iruka!" an authoritative voice interrupted them. Standing a few feet away two ANBU had appeared, wearing black cloaks and hoods. "Come with us."

Iruka frowned but followed, knowing better than disobeying the ANBU. The children were left behind in varying degrees of worry.

(scene break)

Elsewhere two old men and an old woman sat around a traditional tea table. The table was blank as the purpose of the meeting was anything but social. The woman, Koharu, spoke first. "As loath as I was to agree to spy on the Hokage's office, you were right to advise us to." She looked to the man with half his face covered in bandages.

"It does not please me to be right," Danzo said. "What have you found?"

"Uzumaki has a transformation technique far advanced than the standard henge," she paused to give weight to her words, "he turns into a young woman, whose allure is capable of affecting even mature men."

"Kitsune!" the second man, Homura, swore angrily. "And I am sure you have heard about what he has been up to in the Academy?"

Danzo nodded. "The sudden increase in ability, intelligence, and strength?"

"Or simply his ability to hoodwink his instructors," Homura corrected. "No one was able to catch him at it but there is no other explanation for the increase in knowledge and skill."

"The nine tailed fox is working through the boy if it isn't already completely in control," Koharu said with a sigh. "This is too much evidence to ignore, the ability to deceive, to seduce his betters to such a level."

"And I have one more thing to add," Danzo said, seeing his opportunity to close the deal. "My sources tell me that several times in the past weeks since his attack on the Hokage Tower, the boy has completely disappeared from the sight of the crystal ball."

There was disturbed silence at his words, which Danzo secretly enjoyed because it was proof his plan was working. "To our knowledge no _earthly_ justu can make the Hokage's crystal ball blind."

Homura shook his head slightly in disappointment. "Sarutobi refuses to make the difficult choice. Konoha must be protected. We have already taken steps, Danzo. Your news only solidifies that we have done what is right."

"Indeed," Koharu agreed.

"So the boy is mine to…condition?" Danzo asked, already knowing the answer.

"As we speak he is being suspended from the Academy and the Hokage's agent there being diverted to an emergency mission outside the village," said Koharu.

Danzo smiled, knowing that the low light and shadows in the room would hide it. "I will not waste the opportunity you have created." He stood without another word and left. Finally, Konoha's weapon was in his hands to mold.

He paused in his stride when he stepped out of the house and pressed a finger at his throat to the communicator hidden under the collar. "Initiate the plan. Failure will be rewarded with death." His Root ANBU received the order in silence and attacked.

(scene break)

Harry was sitting atop the Hokage Monument, thinking about his latest setback when Snape's form appeared in the air. He raised his brows seeing the panicked expression on the potion master's face.

"Milord, Danzo has- WATCH OUT!" Snape shouted, impotently drawing his wand to point at Harry's assailants.

Harry had jumped at Snape's warning but it was too late. He was pierced with dozens of senbon soaked in tranquilizers. He tried desperately to fix an image of a place to apparate to, but it was like trying to catch air. His vision swam and his thoughts became sluggish. When he fell his body was too numb to report the pain.

Darkness and Root took him.

(Chapter End)

A.N So, sounds like I have to say this again: characters react and develop according to changing circumstances and others. Please don't expect me to write one dimensional Harry/Naruto who is an idiot or angry avenger in every damned circumstance.

Also story will not be slash. In fact, I think, pairings will simply not be the focus. Not that there won't be any love interests.

Hope you guys liked Tsunade. Next chapter should be up soon. I want to write how the Hokage's security measures around Naruto were bypassed.


	8. Chapter 8

A.N. Someone asked again in reviews, so once again, story will not be slash.

Chapter 8.

Severus Snape was not a man who took helplessness well and he took his careful planning being ruined even worse. The bushes near the monument rustled and a shadow clone stepped out, frowning at him. "What happened to the boss?"

Snape gave him his best glare, taking no pleasure when the clone blanched. "Where-were-you?" he demanded waspishly.

The clone adopted the embarrassed mannerism Snape had seen Potter use: One hand arching back to rub the back of his neck, a wide smile, and nervous laugh. "Nature's call," the clone answered.

"You imbecile! The 'boss' has been kidnapped by Root." Snape raged. "You were supposed to be watching his back at all times. That was part of the plan. We were going to choose the best time to _allow_ him to be taken by Danzo."

The boy suddenly dropped the carefree act. "Shit, this changes things. Guess I better drop another anonymous letter in Kitty-chan's mailbox."

Snape shook his head, dismissing the idea. "No, time is of the essence. We need Sarutobi panicked and suspicious of foul play. If it takes him too long to find out, Root will have all the time to make it look like 'Naruto' abandoned the village."

The clone nodded. "Alright, it's a good thing boss figured out how to use the invisibility spell. I will apparate to the Hokage's office and drop the letter on his table and apparate out before anyone can catch me. You'd better get to the boss and let us know if he needs a rescue. I will go to the lake to gather the troops."

Their plans made, both the living and the dead disappeared.

(scene break)

Only a few moments later Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru arrived atop the monument, flushed with the exertion of rushing there. Hinata had her Byakugan active and she scanned her surrounding looking for any sign of the boy. She went to Naruto's favorite spot on the Fourth Hokage's office and exclaimed. "He was here, there are fresh tracks of his sandals on the dirt here."

Shino was further back, closer to where the woods began and was examining the ground. "There are lots of fresh tracks, all pointing inward to where you are standing."

"And...some leaving. They start and then suddenly vanish, almost as if someone jumped from here to start running on the trees," Shikamaru said, squatting and frowning at some tracks.

"S-so, Naruto-kun was here and then several people came for him and he left with them?" Hinata asked hopefully, her forefingers pressing together in a nervous tick.

Shino and Shikamaru exchanged a look. Without a word Shino moved away and climbed a tree near the small clearing that led to the cliff face with the visage of the Hokages carved on it. He stood on a branch and looked hard at other trees. "The tracks disappear up here, and the ones I see are too old. The people who took to the trees, if that is indeed what happened, excel at tree running."

"Blood!" Hinata snapped, her Byakugan active and staring at the ground by her feet where she had found Naruto's sandal marks. "Shino, can your bugs track his blood?"

"Whoa, Hinata-chan." Shikamaru put up his hands in a warding gesture. "We don't even know it's his blood. We might be making too much of this."

"Unfortunately, no, Hinata-san," Shino said. "I have only recently started training my colony to track by smell."

Hinata bit her lower lip worriedly. "W-we should tell someone what we think happened to Naruto-kun."

An ANBU kunoichi landed softly in between the trio. The cat mask on her face relieved Hinata. This was the woman Naruto-kun looked up to.

The kunoichi surveyed them before resting her hand on the handle of the katana strapped to her back. "What do you think happened to Naruto, Hyuuga-san? Don't even think of lying to me or leaving anything out."

Shino and Shikamaru started talking quickly over each other but Hinata didn't hear them, she could sense by the kunoichi's stance that the woman was ready to attack. She made the only conclusion why that may be; Naruto really was in trouble.

(scene break)

An hour and half later Hinata, Shikamaru, and Shino were standing in the Hokage office, amidst more ANBU and several notable elite jounin of Konoha.

"And that is all you can tell us about the ANBU who led Iruka-sensei away? Think children, even the smallest detail could help," the Hokage encouraged. He dearly wished he could order them and demand explanations as he could with his soldiers, but he had to restrain himself from handling them as he would professionals. It would simply not help with children.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama...if we were smarter Iruka-sensei and Naruto-kun wouldn't be in trouble," Hinata said, bowing in shame and regret.

A warm hand rested on the back of her head. "Hush, child, it was not your responsibility to suspect ANBU within your own village. Go with Kenichi-san, all three of you, until we resolve this you will be under protective detail."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Shino and Shikamaru said, keeping their thoughts to themselves as they led their third distraught member out of the office.

As soon as the children were out the door the pressure in the office increased. Veteran soldiers, assassins, and investigators felt the oppressive weight of the Hokage's killing intent alike, reminded painfully of why a man of near seventy years ruled them. He fixed them with a glare, knowing that even those wearing ANBU masks were hiding their eyes from him. "All of you in this room at this moment are ones I am reasonably sure are loyal to me. Which is the only reason those of you tasked with protecting Naruto are alive. Under ordinary circumstances I would execute you for failing the village thus." At this all the nin dropped to their knee in a military bow, not wanting to draw their commander's ire. "Cat-san, begin your briefing."

"Sir." Cat gave a short bow before standing up and facing the nin who had remained kneeled, not having been ordered to stand by the Hokage. "For four weeks I have been receiving intelligence from an anonymous source about a faction within ANBU which is reporting to someone other than the Hokage." She carefully left off 'who' that someone was at the Hokage's orders. "I have been given names and files on these men and women, along with reports of a conspiracy to undermine the Hokage, using Uzumaki as an issue to rally against."

"Politics," a young kunoichi in a trench coat spat.

Cat paused long enough to make the silence uncomfortable as a way to reprimand the younger woman for interrupting her. "These efforts were reported to be coming from within ANBU ranks, as such these actions are considered sedition and mutiny, not simply 'politics.' Furthermore, Uzumaki's importance as a strategic power that these parties wished to subsume was something we couldn't ignore. I have been investigating these claims with a secret taskforce answering directly to the Hokage and off the books, since we suspect that if these allegations are true then someone very highly placed is an acting traitor."

"We cannot believe the words of an 'anonymous' source," Sarutobi Asuma, the Hokage's son, protested. "For all we know it could be ploy to turn us on each other."

"Stand," the Hokage ordered, turning away from the window where he had stood contemplating the situation. "I considered that up to this very moment, Asuma. But the way my measures to protect the boy were hoodwinked are evidence of someone on the inside having turned traitor. Even if this whole thing is an elaborate campaign from another village, _someone_ inside our ranks helped our enemies." He quieted and nodded to Cat to continue.

"It would be delusional right now to think we don't have traitors amongst us," Cat said with some heat, surprising the group. The ANBU Kunoichi was known for her even keeled demeanor in face of adversity. "Umino Iruka, who acted nominally as the Hokage's eyes and ears an the Academy was taken away by either ANBU masqueraders or what my source calls the traitorous faction 'Root' ANBU. The reassignment that ANBU on Uzumaki's guardian detail received had all the correct verification codes. So either we have all become so incompetent that an enemy village's nin was able to orchestrate all that without need of inside help, or the simpler option, which is that we have a traitor. My taskforce will be working under this theory as we continue the investigation."

"Thank you for the background info, Cat-san, but can someone tell me what the status on Naruto's search is?" asked, an eccentric looking jounin with his Hitiate slanted to cover one eye and white hair sticking out wildly on his head.

"Hai, Kakashi-senpai." Cat gave a short bow of respect for her past superior and one of the elite jounin of Konoha. "Inuzuka Tsume and her daughter Hanna are trailing with their nindogs. My squad is with her. The Inuzuka dogs are very familiar with Uzumaki's scent, since he spends some time at the vet clinic every week."

Kakashi nodded pushing off the bookshelf he had slouched against during the meeting. "I'll be heading after them, then."

"No, I need you for something else," the Hokage interrupted.

Kakashi's one visible eye showed his momentary frown, betraying his confusion. He expected that Naruto's retrieval would be priority and it should really be his job. But long years of trust in and obedience to the Hokage held his tongue. "Hai," he said simply.

Cat took the floor again. "You will be divided in teams to ensure the lockdown of the village is enforced. Other teams will be on capture missions for the ANBU whose names I was given; they will then be processed by the Torture and Interrogation Division. Asuma-san, the village lockdown will be overseen by you, please select your lieutenants from those present. Anko-san." Cat nodded to the trench coat wearing kunoichi who had interrupted her earlier. "You are tasked with retrieving Umino Iruka. Ibiki-san, we have already detained the Academy instructors and sent them to your division; we need to know who orchestrated Uzumaki's suspension."

The broad, tall man with a dark expression nodded, accepting the folio the ANBU kunoichi handed to him. "Someone tried very hard to pass this under our collective nose. The boy's apartment has been cleared out to make it look like he left of his own volition, and the suspension is a plausible excuse for why he would run away. I'll find out who prodded the instructors into creating the cover for the kidnapping."

The Hokage gave the head interrogator and torturer a nod of approval. "You will have many guests Ibiki...you will also be sharing all information with Cat and referencing the information she has found. The words of an anonymous source are not enough for a conviction. I want to execute these traitors, find me proof so I can."

Ibiki heard his dismissal and with a bow retreated from the office. Asuma quietly indicated the lieutenants he wanted and left as well. Anko, however, had a question, "Cat-san, is my mission solo?"

Cat nodded. "You will be in radio contact with me. As soon as you have located Iruka or the ANBU who led him away, you will contact me. I will send a hit team to your location under your command to apprehend the criminals and rescue Iruka. It's the best I can do, we have a very small group of people whose loyalty we are certain of."

The young woman nodded with a grin. "Don't worry, Kitty-chan, I can handle it." The young kunoichi body flickered away before the other woman could say anything about the nickname.

Cat turned to the Hokage. "I will take the rest of the ANBU and begin hunting down the suspected Root members, sir."

When the room cleared leaving only the old man and the strange jounin, Kakashi spoke again, "Ma, looks like everyone else is gone, so can I find out my super secret mission now?"

"Danzo is accused of heading Root, with tacit approval from the Council. All three of them might be behind today's events with different degrees of involvement," the Hokage said without preamble.

Kakashi's demeanor changed from laid back disinterest to combat readiness. "Is the information reliable enough to believe that?"

The Hokage sighed, allowing one of his most trusted subordinates to see his frustration. "I have no way of knowing how reliable it is, but the Council has been at my neck about Naruto being a danger, and Danzo has nearly always disagreed with my policies. Most of the knowledge Konoha has of how other villages train their jinchuriki comes from Danzo's sources."

"So he has been trying to make you train Naruto like others like him?" Kakashi hummed to himself in thought. "Cat doesn't have the experience to investigate the council or Danzo too closely."

"No, my old comrades are too clever for Cat. They will either eat her alive or frustrate her efforts with such ease she will be chasing her tail for days. And, I don't want to sabotage her career by giving her an assignment to investigate three people so venerated in Konoha on what amounts to hearsay." The Hokage fixed Kakashi with a meaning laden look.

The jounin smiled under his half mask. "But I am the eccentric and lovable war hero. I can't simply be killed and brushed under the rug."

The Hokage smiled faintly. "And should you step too far, I have reason to ignore it, given how anyone would expect you to be distraught over the threat to your old sensei's son. That is besides the fact that you are the only one I can trust with this, of course."

"I still wish you would let me chase after Naruto. I don't have a good feeling about this," Kakashi said.

"Neither do I," the Sandaime whispered, looking out at the Hokage Monument. "All the information you need to get started is in your old office at ANBU headquarters. Get me answers, Kakashi, even if they can't be proven."

Kakashi saluted jauntily before leaving.

(scene break)

Snape was walking besides the shadow clone, leading him to the underground warehouse Potter had been taken to. "Are you sure the dogs won't be able to tell they are smelling a clone and not the real thing?"

The clone gave him an irritated look. "I'm not an idiot. The boss had us test this with Saori already. As far as the Inuzuka dogs know I am the real deal. Not like the dogs or trackers will have any other way of finding the boss. These Root bastards know how to cover their tracks. I didn't even think they would have a place so far out of the village."

"Let us hope they arrive soon. Potter was still passed out from the tranquilizers last time I checked, but that was three hours ago," Snape said.

"Aww, you care about the boss." The shadow clone grinned but quickly looked the other way when faced with Snape's murderous stare. "I still think we should've brought the troops."

Snape scowled. "Our timing was taken from us but we cannot allow the whole plan to fail. Potter being brainwashed or conditioned in a Root facility is incontrovertible proof that there are powers acting against Sarutobi's orders. It will give the Hokage enough evidence to strike and cripple his opposition. We _must_ continue with this tableau, your boss agreed to this long ago."

The shadow clone shrugged. "Yeah, but you know him, he's so focused on the nonviolent solution, I'm worried what will happen if things get ugly. I don't see the boss sitting there letting himself be tortured or brainwashed."

Snape gave the clone a long look. "You have his memories and his experiences, however dull you like to act in my presence to torment me. You should know that your boss has both a high threshold for pain and hardheadedness that even I could not cure him of in six years of being his teacher."

"Aww, you care about us clones too, look at you trying to put me at ease." The clone chuckled.

(scene break)

It was early night when Tsume, her daughter, and their ANBU retinue arrived at the Root facility. On the surface it looked like any other rock outcropping one would find in the forested foothills they were in. In the darkness the area looked even less suspicious, but Saori and the other dogs were rushing straight at the rock cropping. Tsume slowed down and signaled her team to approach carefully. They closed in on the outcropping in a ring, while the dogs were digging right by the rock.

"Door, here," an ANBU called out over his radio. Hidden underneath loose dirt that the dogs had moved aside was a trapdoor. Tsume reached for the handle and opened it, glad to hear no noise from the well oiled hinges. But the very next moment she recoiled as the smell of blood and refuse hit her. Saori whined beside her.

"Hell, I smell blood," Tsume said, and even though the ANBU should have entered ahead of her, she led the team down. The hallway she landed in was dark, but a flickering bulb showed the blood smears on the green walls.

Her daughter, Hanna, pressed forward with her blades out in each hand. They rounded a corner only to see more blood and a slumped body in a black cloak and an ANBU mask. Hanna pressed her fingers on the man's throat and looked back to shake her head, indicating that the man was dead. They navigated through the corridor until coming to a set of double doors which looked like they belonged on an operating room.

Hanna flanked one side of the door while Tsume took the other. The ANBU slipped forward but waited in hushed silence for any sign of life they could hear beyond the doors. After a few long tense moments the ANBU lead signaled 'go.' Tsume and Hanna burst inside with ANBU backing them up.

"No!" Hanna exclaimed in dismay, despite her many experiences with the Shinobi life. The room was an operating theater of some sort. A stiff chair surrounded by drips and other instruments not readily identified was drenched in blood. All around the room nin lay dead, blood pooling by them. Cracks in the walls showed where some had been bodily thrown with inhuman strength. The ANBU quickly entered the other connecting rooms, finding more bodies, all dressed as ANBU.

Saori slid around the humans and sniffed the blood on the operating chair. She looked at Hanna with a growl, sympathizing with the human girl's grief, and confirming to her what Hanna had understood instinctively: "The blood on the chair is Uzumaki Naruto's. His scent dies by the blood right by the ladder."

Tsume ground her teeth. "So he's either dead or someone took his body...or he's alive, escaped, and somehow removed his scent."

"Are you saying an Academy student killed all these nin?" one of the ANBU asked incredulously. "Seems to me like someone double crossed the kidnappers and took the kid, either dead or alive."

Tsume shook her head staring at the cameras fixed on the ceiling corners of the room, hoping they could trace where the recordings from those cameras were. "I don't know... We have to inform the Hokage," she said at length.


	9. Chapter 9

9.

Piercing white light assaulted his eyes even though he had them shut. His mind awoke, fighting awareness with all its heart. Harry knew he needed to wake up, he felt alarmed for a reason he couldn't remember. The bright light still bore into his eyes and he made a sound of protest that came out muffled; he realized his mouth was being forced open and his tongue clamped down with some instrument.

"He is waking up. We miscalculated the dosage, he should be unconscious for another few hours at least," a man's voice echoed in Harry's head. The numbness in his limbs and the sluggishness of his thoughts added to the man's words reminded Harry that he had been drugged.

"It doesn't change anything, whether he is aware or asleep we must proceed," a woman's voice answered. "Uzumaki, if you can hear us, relax, you are being processed for agent training in Root. We are nearly finished placing a seal on you to ensure that the secrets you will learn will remain secure."

The alarm that Harry had been feeling turned to full terror; he did not want any sort of seal put on him. He struggled against the weakness of his body and thoughts, but trying to pull away only hurt him as his tongue was stuck within clamps. "Expelliarmus!" he thought in his mind, but the thought swam in and out of concentration. He grew frustrated, hearing the whir of the tool that was marking his tongue. He couldn't afford to have a seal on him.

_Crucio!_ Harry raged in his mind. The men holding him down jerked back screaming in agony. Harry's screams joined theirs; as they were ripped away from him, the tool tattooing the seal on his tongue raked across and wounded him deeply. Blood pooled in his mouth and spilled from his lips. The two nin stood to their feet getting over the shock of the cruciatus and called for help. Harry concentrated on disapparating, heedless of the risk of splinching given the way he was tied down, but then he saw a glimpse of something through the swinging doors and grinned.

Five nin broke into the room, looking like something out of Dudley's video games. One threw both his hands out in a thrusting motion. Bolts of light erupted from his hands and met the nin, throwing them hard against the walls. As they slid down blood trailed behind them from cracked skulls. The other Root ANBU had enough time to react and shuriken dissipated the black clad and masked rescuers, the only color on them were the yellow sleeveless haori they wore.

In answer the remaining nin appartaed to trap the Root ANBU in a pincer maneuver and in mirror movements used sectumsempra. They moved their hands as if they were swords, cutting up the ANBU many times with the spell. Blood flew and Root fell. In the end only one clone was left standing. He flicked kunai at the security camera, severing their cables, before making his way to Harry.

"Boss." He bowed. "Others are clearing out the rest of the compound." He cut the restraints and Harry took his hand to be pulled out of the operating chair. "Here, let me heal that," the clone took the glove off his hand and raised it to Harry's mouth, only for Harry to grab it and hold it in a vise-like grip.

Harry tried to speak but his tongue ached and blood in his mouth made it too hard. He tried again and a moan of agony escaped him. The clone put his shoulder under Harry when he looked like he was going to fall. Harry made the hand seals to summon another clone who had his current memories.

The clone appeared in full uniform like the rescue squad. "Don't heal the boss. They put a seal on his tongue, right now there's a cut through it. We don't know what will happen if we heal it and the seal goes back to being undamaged. Can't use our magic, lads, it's too strong."

"What do we do then?" the other asked. "Can't take him back to Konoha hospital, Root might be there."

The clones froze for a moment and then cursed. "They are on to us, we need to call reinforcements or get the Hell out. The three squads we came with are dead."

"Tsunade," Snape said, appearing beside them. "She owes him a life debt. Get him a towel to stem the bleeding and get him out of here. I will search for her."

(scene break)

Nara Shikaku was no man's fool; the fact that the village was in lockdown and he hadn't been called to take command of any of the forces deployed spoke volumes of his current standing. He sipped his tea, sitting on the veranda of his home, seemingly at peace with the beautiful day. Only someone who had known him a long time could tell that the lazing exterior was a barely held façade. Nara Shikaku was furious and apprehensive; he had been complacent about the Jinchuriki issue, letting other clan heads do what they wanted. And by his inaction he had foolishly put himself in a situation where outsiders would think he agreed with them. Even telling his son to keep his distance so that his personal feelings did not become to other clan heads would have turned out to be a bad decision. He had to thank his son for disobeying him, if nothing else, that should convince the Sandaime that the Nara were not plotting anything. Sometimes, being the Jounin Commander of Konoha was really not worth all the politics.

He sighed, blowing on the cup to cool the tea. The winds that had seemed to be blowing through Konoha were not of change, he thought to himself irritably. The Hokage's political power hadn't waned as much as he had expected. With the clan heads being as disgruntled as they were, Shikaku had judged that a compromise was on the horizon regarding the Uzumaki boy. He never expected it to come to a head like this. Now there wouldn't be any quiet meetings where things were settled over mock polite conversation.

And in the midst of it, his own son was being held as a witness. Shikaku wondered if the boy was in 'protective detail' to serve the dual purpose of keeping the Nara clan in line as well. Having the Hyuuga heiress in the Hokage tower certainly strengthened the Sandaime's position, he mused. Suddenly he stood up and walked off the veranda with determined steps. Although, he might be a failure in the field of politics, on the battle ground he was an artist, and in time of Konoha's need, he wouldn't allow himself to sit at home like a retiree. It was time to confess some things to the Hokage, no matter what the fall out.

(scene break)

The Hokage office was a study in opposites that night; he sat silently at his desk puffing at his pipe, while chunnin rushed in and out with reports, creating a cacophony just outside his door. They were afraid of their leader's calm and the expressionless way he read reports of his loyal forces either failing or succeeding in their missions. Inuzuka Tsume and her team hadn't reported back yet; the chunnin kept asking each other if they had heard anything yet. Every one of them hoping to give the old man some good news and terrified at the same time if it was bad news.

It was in this drama of oppressive silence and nervous bustle that Shikaku arrived. The chunnin quieted at his presence, hoping that he had arrived to bring some explanation of what was happening inside their village. The scarred man, however, walked past them into the Hokage office and shut the door behind.

Shikaku stood at attention in front of the old Hokage, waiting for his superior to acknowledge his presence. The Sandaime kept smoking while he stared at him with flat eyes that gave away nothing. Shikaku had never been on the receiving end of the man's distrustful gaze and he felt angry at himself for the inaction that led to him being suspected. "I did not send for you," the Sandaime said at long last.

"Yes, I received the message you wished to send instead, Lord Hokage," Shikaku said, alluding to the show of distrust by not being summoned to take command. "And I was questioned in my capacity as a clan head by your ANBU, so I expect that my name is in the clear."

The Sandaime snorted in plain disgust and looked away from him to reports on his desk. "I had hoped you would keep me informed of machinations against a ten year old boy by men and women far older and powerful than him."

"It was not my place to report on school house gossip…" Shikaku started to say but trailed off when the Sandaime slammed his hand on his desk.

"You are the Jounin Commander of Konoha and if you learned of a concentrated effort to expel Konoha's Jinchuriki, then it is not only your place but your _duty_ to report it and even before you report it, to take action to safeguard the boy!" the Sandaime shouted.

Shikaku bowed. "My lord, you have encouraged us to not think of Uzumaki-san as a Jinchuriki-"

"Then are you saying you don't even have common compassion to inform the few people in this damned village who care about the child's happiness of the conspiracies against him?" the Hokage interrupted again.

"I admit that my inaction was wrong, Lord Hokage, but you must understand that there were more than a bunch of busy body housewives complaining. To defend the boy was equal to going against the council, and it is very difficult to judge how one should act when you and the council are at odds. If I become too political in my position I cannot be seen as fair." Shikaku sighed, departing from formal speech. "Lord Hokage, the damned politics of the position is a drag."Shikaku understood that as painful the previous few minutes had been the next few would be worse. He had put into words the unspoken source of discontent: the Council.

He was surprised then when the Sandaime's face stretched in a very unpleasant smile that one would wear looking at prey which had just fallen in a trap. "So, Shikaku, how exactly has the Council been pressuring you and the rest of the clan heads?"

"Ah, shit," Shikaku cursed. "You left me in the cold just so that I'd have to spill all this, right?"

The Sandaime raised a brow, neither confirming nor denying. "Shikaku, sit, and answer the question, at length, if you please."

Shikaku sighed and sat down. It was really galling to fall for a trick at his age and experience.

(scene break)

The latest clone Harry had created appeared with his boss over his shoulder by the training lake. "I am Alpha now. We are waiting for Snape to locate Tsunade-san. The boss is hurt bad. Stay ready to attack in case someone finds us here."

In the darkness of night the surface of the lake looked eerie, the starlight showing many points from which ripples spread out. Standing at the center of each ripple was a shadow clone, invisible.

Alpha settled his boss against the trunk of the weeping willow by the lake. The boss was looking pale, the usual tan skin couldn't hide that he wasn't doing well. Alpha clone unrolled some bandages and took out the bloody rag in his boss's mouth to replace with the bandages. "Boss, I hope you know what you're doing. Your tongue is a mess." Alpha received an angry nod from the boss and backed off.

The sound of water splashing made Alpha look back at the lake, two trails were making their way to shore. He waited patiently as another clone appeared with their female version. The girl clone went over to the boss and began checking up on him. Alpha quietly chuckled at the Boss's blush.

Alpha quickly averted his eyes from the female version of Naruto bending over. The girl stood several inches taller than him, with his black T-shirt tied off under her hardly contained breasts. The orange pants were rolled up to show off her smooth legs as well. Alpha knew from his own memories that Naruto had spent a lot of time spying on women in the hot springs to come up with a killer body, and he had succeeded so well that even the boss, who was the most balanced of all of them, felt a blush when he looked at the blond girl.

To take his mind off their older and fairer clone, Alpha tried to start a conversation with the clone who had come with her. Unfortunately that clone had his eyes fixed at her derriere. "Oi," Alpha said. "That's really narcissistic, you know."

The clone scowled to him. "Oh, so it's okay when you peek?"

"Don't start with me. Which one are you?" Alpha asked.

"Eh, probably Foxtrot 7, can't keep track. She hits us so many times we've dispelled like mad," Foxtrot explained.

Alpha made a commiserating noise, Naruto had modeled his girl self after capricious kunoichi who could be sweet as sugar one moment and demons the next. The only one their girl clone was always nice to was the boss, because, well, he was the boss. "What about your project? We have to go see Tsunade-san and he will need a disguise better than just any henge."

Apparently the girl heard them and flounced over. "It's ready, it's ready. Do you want to see?"

"H-Hi Zulu," Alpha stuttered when he was hugged suddenly by the clingy girl. "Um, sure. I guess you're finally done."

The girl clone crossed her arms and sniffed, adopting a superior pose. "As if with my skills it would have taken any time. I present to you sexy no jutsu Harry version!"

Foxtrot 7 at her side burst into smoke and when it cleared Alpha was taken aback seeing the face and body the boss had when he had been an eleven year old. But there some things that were off: the carefully windswept black hair, the lack of glasses, and did Foxtrot's green eyes sparkle at him? Foxtrot smiled mischievously before giving him a sidelong demure look, his pale skin and delicate face taking on a tragic air. "Err," Alpha began. "Doesn't he look a little…you know…"

"Bishonin!" the girl clone provided happily.

Alpha smacked his face in despair. "Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means," he asked of her.

"Boss, you were so adorable," the girl gushed, looking back at the boss who was screaming bloody murder with his eyes at the transformation she had come up for him.

"Oi! You!" Alpha pointed at the only other male.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a pretty boy, live with it, Alpha," the clone, Foxtrot, said. Foxtrot went back to a more normal expression. Alpha breathed in relief, half the 'girliness' was due to the way the clone had been acting. The boss didn't need an aneurism on top off having his tongue shredded just then.

"Ok, the boss asked you to come up with a transformation technique to turn him back into his seventeen year old self, and you did this. Hell, even if you wanted him to be an eleven year old, he didn't look like _that_!"

"Alpha!" the girl clone pouted, and Alpha had to stop himself from staring at her rounded lips.

"He wanted a seventeen year old version so he could have longer reach when fighting. But he has me for that!" She flexed her arms, showing off her muscles, and with perfect balance performed a high kick, holding her leg at extension to show off her limberness and reach.

Alpha blinked in shock; the boss hadn't thought of that. Naruto had certainly made his female sexy self leggy and tall, and modeled her off of kunoichi. So girl clone really could have been the answer to his reach and strength issues all along. "Ok, fine, why the delicate squirt version of the boss then?"

"Ano, one always has to start small," girl clone said and giggled.

"Obviously, did you think we got these amazing knockers right away?" Foxtrot clone flicked the female clone's breasts. "It took us time to get them just right." A second later Zulu had laid him out with a punch to his head, which meant a moment later it was dispelled and Alpha had all its memories.

"Alright, guess we all know how to do Sexy no Jutsu Bishonin Harry version now. But you better keep working on creating a big version of the boss, Zulu," Alpha said. "And pray he doesn't murder you went he's feeling better."

"Nah, I'm too cute. He'll feel like a monster if he hurts me," Zulu said with a wink.

Alpha rolled his eyes. "You're probably right. Hey!" he called out to the invisible troops. "Half of you should transform into Zulu and train in our girl form. We have to train her up too."

"Please, baby, I was ready to kick ass the day I was transformed," Zulu said from a little behind him.

Alpha turned to see what she was doing and his face paled. She was carefully putting the boss's head on her lap to help him relax, while the boss was making wild motions to stop her.

"Zulu! Idiot! He has blood in his mouth. He'll drown if you lower his head!" Alpha stormed to the girl to protect his boss, all the time wondering how the Hell the boss put up with his clones.

He'd been at the job for less than an hour and he was ready to kill himself. Being the Alpha clone sucked.

(scene break)

Cat rewound the tape and played it again, the remote control in her hand squeaked in protest at how hard she was holding it.

"Cat," Ibiki's deep voice reprimanded quietly. "I know you're close to the boy but you won't be able to help him if you are pissed off constantly."

Cat wanted to snap back but marshaled herself. She didn't want to prove the man's point for him. "Yes, senpai. I just can't stand our own people-"

"If they operated outside of the Hokage's purview and went against his orders they were never _our_ people, Cat," Ibiki said. He stirred sugar in his coffee and leaned back on the comfortable office chair. "Now, play that again so I can enjoy what happened to them again."

Cat grinned viciously. "With pleasure, Ibiki-senpai."

The two ANBU members were in a small evidence room where they had rolled a TV, VCR, and a couple of chairs. The tapes that had appeared in Cat's mailbox were stacked on top of the TV and they had just started reviewing them. Ibiki lounged in his usual foreboding long coat and black bandana, and Cat had donned a white cloak over her armor to stave off the cold in the evidence room.

They watched the silent video of a squad of apparent ANBU bring a knocked out Uzumaki Naruto into a facility. He was pin-cushioned with senbon and for a long time the traitors simply stood in the cell they brought him to, removing the needles.

"Skillfully applied senbon, designed to knock him out, not kill him. Still there is too much blood loss," Ibiki observed.

"Not all of the senbon are on mark, he must have run, making them misaim," Cat said. "I'll forward this part; they just left him in the cell for a couple of hours."

They watched while sipping their drinks as the camera stayed on Naruto's sleeping form. Cat got up and changed tapes when two ninja took Naruto from the cell, and she found the one for the operating theater. The chair in the theater had chakra suppression seals carved in it, once Naruto was strapped in, it would be nigh impossible for him to break out. Cat watched in mounting anger, once again, as Naruto's mouth was pulled open and a vise like instrument trapped and pulled out his tongue.

Ibiki grunted. "Wish the angle was better. I wonder what they are marking on his tongue."

"Maybe you should ask the Root bastards I brought you," Cat said.

Ibiki gave the younger woman a look she couldn't see, and then said softly, "I would be, if you hadn't dragged me in here first."

Cat twisted in her chair to finally loosen some of her tension on the man by yelling at him but he held up a hand to stall her. "Now, Cat, I think that was a good idea. With this info I can interrogate them better. Do me a favor though, help me with the torture. You need to let go of your anger a bit before I let you out amongst the sheep." He grinned at her.

Cat was surprised at his words. Ibiki was essentially telling her that if she didn't lock down her emotions he wouldn't let her resume her duty amongst the normal Shinobi. "I'm not that far gone," she said, turning back to the video and playing. A scoff sounding suspiciously like 'women' could be heard from Ibiki but Cat ignored it.

"This is my favorite part," Ibiki said, leaning forward, shoulder to shoulder with cat. "What _is_ that jutsu?"

Cat shook her head. "Seeing how quickly they pulled away from him, I'd think it would be a fire or lightning jutsu, but-"

"We see no light, hand seals, and Uzumaki shouldn't be able to pull off a jutsu half drugged and with his chakra suppressed," Ibiki finished. "Oh! Here they come," Ibiki cheered.

"You are a very disturbing man, Ibiki-senpai," Cat teased, wondering if the satisfaction she felt at the squads of pint sized ninja in full black suits killing the Root made her as much a monster as Ibiki.

"Shadow clones," Ibiki observed. "It's not an exclusive Konoha technique, given how often techniques end up stolen, but it might be important to note." A whole bunch of the little nin in yellow haori were dispelled when two ANBU waded into them with their ninjato drawn.

"Look at this again," Cat said, focusing on the fight in the operating theater. "Unless those two teleported, I'd say they have fantastic genjutsu skills to back up their teamwork. And, again, what kind of jutsu are they using?"

"I want that invisible sword jutsu those brats used. Although, that might just be wind jutsu, I don't see hand seals though." Ibiki sighed. From the other tapes they had seen, he knew that other identical squads were fighting Root in other hallways and rooms, with varying success, usually determined by if they had the element of surprise or not.

"The squad that got Uzumaki was lucky. Those ANBU in there were probably specialized in poisons and sealing and not combat," Cat mused, then swore when the video blanked after a nin sent a kunai at the camera. "So, conclusions: Uzumaki has been taken by a third party, using mass shadow clone and other seal-less techniques, and we have no way of knowing if they are friend or foe."

Ibiki nodded slowly. "The only people who would know where Uzumaki is Root operatives themselves or someone they trusted. I sense a double cross. It's not as if it is unknown that Uzumaki is our Jinchuriki. Almost any village out there would be happy to have him."

"And who knows who Root was in cahoots with," Cat said.

Ibiki patted her back. "Don't worry, kid, that's my job to find out. Up for torture?"

Cat took off her mask and gave her nominal superior a flat look. "Sorry, I have to wake up early in the morning."

Ibiki laughed heartily at the innuendo and left the cold room. Cat shuddered, promising herself not to make the frightening man laugh ever again.

(scene break)


	10. Chapter 10

10.

Blood continued to pool in his mouth and his tongue burned where the seal had been grafted. He tried to focus on the antics of his clones to take his mind off the pain and the general weakness he felt from the sedatives in his body. It was while he was fully distracted by Zulu showing off her bishonen Harry transformation that he felt an alien presence. He stiffened at the surge of feelings of hate and bloodlust inside him, and if it hadn't been his long experience with the curse scar linking him to Voldemort, Harry would not have known that he was sensing someone else's emotions. For some time these emotions built and Harry tried to search out their source.

He began to feel warm, noticing that it was spreading from his stomach. He wanted to attract the attention of his clones but the agony in his mouth only let him make a low moaning sound. Zulu noticed but she thought he just wanted to be comforted and, in a show of affection he might have liked any other moment, came over to put his head in her lap.

Before he could even try to warn her not to the edges of his vision went red as something seared through his body like boiling water. Harry jerked and flailed at the sudden pain, and to his horror he felt the alien power quicken toward his tongue. His wounded tongue and the burning seal were hurting less, and Harry knew he was being healed by the invader. Panicked, he treated the malevolent yet healing power as someone attempting possession. Remembering Dumbledore's words to think of the people he loved to destroy Voldemort's hold on him, Harry tried the same thing. With memories of Hermione, Ron, Sirius, Ginny, and Remus, his heart felt fit to burst from emotions that he had been hiding from ever since he had woken up as Naruto. He had loved, _still_ loved them, and he had been _torn_ away from them, denied even the chance to meet them in death. The love and the grief flooded, fighting the hate and bloodlust of the invader.

Harry took pained breaths as soon as the agony in his tongue and the seal eating at it began screaming at him again. Despite the pain he was relieved, the presence had retreated back to somewhere in the middle of his stomach, failing to fully heal his tongue, and so restoring the seal to full function. Unfortunately, the ordeal was too much, and he fell unconscious. His last hope was that his idiot clone wouldn't let him drown in his own blood.

(scene break)

Tsunade wondered why people only drank to the moon at night, stars were just as good a reason to drink to, and besides there were many more of them so one could drink more. She snorted at herself for her whimsy, pouring Sake in her saucer, and leaned back against the roof of some random house she had chosen to spend her night on top of. It helped that the house was as far away as the hotel Shizune was in at the moment. Ever since they had left Konoha after the boy had dragged them there, Shizune had been in the doldrums and gave her looks of poignant sadness when she thought Tsunade couldn't see. Tsunade had tried to get the young woman out of her funk by being every more incorrigible at gambling and drinking, but it hadn't worked.

Sadly, that meant Tsunade looked for chances to get away from Shizune to get away from her moping. It helped that she had had a bit of luck at the slot machines lately, and there was enough Ryo to indulge in some fine sake and stargazing. Sighing at the soul pampering she was giving herself, Tsunade lifted her Sake saucer to the stars to toast to them.

It was at this moment that the sleepy silence of the night was disrupted by a staccato of muffled cracks. Tsunade lifted a blond brow at the multitude of short ninjas that had appeared, carpeting the roofs, trees, and power lines around her. She looked over her shoulder, and, yes, even there the army of ninjas wearing black skintight clothes, black tactical masks only leaving their eyes visible crouched in readiness. Yellow sleeveless haori tied at the waist with a wide weapons belt was the only departure from the black theme. Tsunade sighed, "I should have known…I won gambling. It's always a bad sign." She massaged her temple with her free hand and finished her Sake with the other. "Look, kids, whoever you are, I have just gotten away from my PMSing underling with the best bottle of Sake in Fire Country. If you're here to pick a fight with me, I won't go easy on you."

The 'kids' were apparently ignoring her, even though a good bunch of them were watching her, their eyes were roving at the surroundings. They acted more like a protective detail. She noticed with a frown that the ones on the outside of their ranks were making hand signs and waving them at the air in front of them. The air shimmered as their hands passed in those complex motions, and when all noise seemed to stop at the end of their motions and everything in her vision beyond their furthest ranks took on a hazy look, Tsunade began to worry. "Is that some sort of barrier?" she asked curiously of the little ninjas closest to her.

One of them bowed and said, "Yes, my lady, privacy and protection spells, I mean, techniques. The boss will be here soon, now that the area is secure."

Tsunade was heartened by the nervousness she heard in the boy's voice, figuring she could easily bully information out of him. "So, what's your name, kid?"

The kid looked at his identical comrades, who looked back at him and shrugged. He laughed and in a gesture that put Tsunade on guard, reached back to scratch his neck. "Um, I guess, I am Scorpion."

"I _still_ think we should be Legion," another boy said, grumbling.

"But we don't have the costumes for it," a third disagreed.

"Besides, Scorpion was the coolest," the first boy said.

"No, Sub-Zero was the coolest…get it? It's funny because he-" the latest little ninja didn't get to finish what he was going to say because his neighbor planted a kunai in his chest.

Tsunade made a startled sound dropping her Sake saucer in surprise at the casual brutality. The boy cracking the unfortunate joke puffed out of existence.

"What the fuck, man? You can't do that, the boss is in no condition to assimilate memories!" the boy who had introduced himself as 'Scorpion' berated the one who had 'killed' their comrade.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at evidence of shadow clones and the repeated references to 'boss.' Feeling her temper rising at who she expected was under the mask, she struck lightning quick and grabbed the boy's mask. She pulled it off before he could say anything, and blond hair atop shocked blond eyes met her. "Damn it, Naruto, what the Hell are you doing here?" she snapped.

The child watched the mask in her hand in dismay. "Can I have my mask back, please? The boss has us under strict orders to be incognito. And please, don't take his name so loudly."

Tsunade threw the mask back at the boy. "Fine, _Scorpion_, what's going on?"

At her question something electric went through the swarm of black and yellow clad clones. Tsuande knew fear when she saw it. Scorpion answered her in a low voice, "Boss was kidnapped and injured. They tried to put a seal on him to…control him, we think. We don't know. We sprung the boss out, but we need you to heal him."

Before Tsunade could formulate the dozens of questions in her mind there were two more cracks that she now associated with Naruto's teleportation jutsu. A teenage girl with two long pony tails had appeared carrying Naruto bridal style with a clone next to her dressed in Naruto's normal clothes.

"Tsunade-san," the girl greeted, her blue eyes tensed in worry. "Thank God we found you. He's wounded badly, we can't wake him up." She kneeled in front of her, keeping the unconscious Naruto vertical and held against her chest. "His tongue is shredded, there's a seal on it, the blood isn't stopping. Please heal him!"

Tsunade had stopped listening to the girl. She could smell the blood and see the trickle of it at the corner of his mouth. She had frozen at the smell and the sight of it had her breaking out in a cold sweat. Her heart beat loudly in her ears as the hemophobia that had made her useless as a shinobi reared its head. "No…" she gasped, seeing instead of Naruto the people she had loved and lost.

"No? What do you mean no? He could be dying!" the girl shouted.

"Lady Tsunade, I understand that you didn't welcome the boss's affections, but to let that stop you from saving his life is cruel and evil," the clone with the girl snapped. "God damn it, don't you have a heart at all?"

Tsunade's head was spinning and her she felt she couldn't get enough oxygen, she was about to faint and she knew it. She just had to give in and then she wouldn't have to deal with it. Wouldn't have to try and fail to save another life, wouldn't have to have her hands covered in the blood of those she loved. Soon, the once strong woman was not even present in the moment. She was too lost to the cloud of her fears and grief. Darkness and sweet oblivion took her.

But her relief was short lived because something jolted her back to consciousness. Naruto unconcsious form was in the arms of his clone now, and Tsunade found herself looking up at the blond girl she did not not know. The girl had her by the lapel of her robes and was glaring holes in her. "You owe him a life debt, you weak bitch. I won't let you pass out drunk and let him die. Heal him!"

With surprising strength, the girl lifted Tsunade to her feet, and put her shoulder under Tsunade's arm. "I will support you, please…we have no one else," she said.

Tsunade nodded, trying to marshal her fear the best she could. She kneeled in front of Naruto and with a shaky hand opened his mouth, pretending she couldn't feel the blood in his mouth. She hissed in horror and shock at the tongue. "We need an operating room and tools, this is…" She swooned and trailed off. A slap woke her up. She didn't even try and find who had hit her and refocused on the boy. "No time," she muttered to herself and thrust her hand in the boy's mouth.

She closed her eyes, hoping that not being able to see the blood would help her. A hand began to rub circles on her back in a comforting manner. "You can do it, you're the best Kunoichi in the world. Some even say the hottest Kunoichi, but that's just because they haven't met me," the girl beside her whispered.

Tsunade didn't know if she should be annoyed or amused, but she was thankful that the child was attempting to help her. Green light engulfed Tsunade's hand as she sought to knit the wound and encourage Naruto's own chakra to aid in the healing. The latter was a very difficult technique requiring her to match chakra with another's.

Silence reigned while Tsunade worked, she had fallen in a near meditative state in her concentration, lulled there by the girl's steady encouragements. For the moment she put it out of her mind that she fallen so far that she needed the words of a teenage girl, as a crutch to perform techniques of which she was the uncontested master.

Finally when Naruto's chakra responded to her call and melded with hers to heal his tongue, Tsunade allowed herself to come out of the trance. She had stemmed the bleeding and knit the wound, even donated some of her chakra to help Naruto's. She pulled out her hand and held it to the side, trying not to think of the fluids on it. Cold liquid fell on her hand, making her snap her eyes open to see 'Scorpion' washing her hand in water that was seemed to be appearing out of his hand.

"The seal?" the clone holding Naruto asked, his tone tense.

The girl leaned forward and looked inside Naurto's mouth, pulling at the tongue. Apparently she found good news because she sat back and sighed in relief. "It looks like the wound cut a jagged path through it. Tsunade-san's technique didn't restore it."

The clone nodded and sighed as well, a small smile appeared on his lips. "Thank, Merlin," he said.

"Who's Merlin?" Tsunade asked, weakly; she was still getting over the shock of blood and having actually healed someone in years.

"Err, no one," the girl said quickly. "So! Is he going to be okay?"

Tsunade heard the subject change but cared little to pursue who Merlin was. Instead, she answered, "I'm going to have to look under a light. But," she paused, as if to make up her mind, "be prepared, I don't think he will be the same. The damage might be long lasting." She watched the two, expecting dismayed looks but they were only thoughtful.

"What do you think, Alpha?" the girl asked the clone.

"We'll heal it with Hallow power once we can get rid of the seal," the clone, Alpha, answered.

"Excuse me," Scorpion interrupted. "We're hidden but there were ninjas in this town when we showed up. They are around looking for the disturbance. If we can move, we should. This is too big an area to cover in just privacy wards."

Tsunade scoffed and stood up. "I hope you all don't travel everywhere with him like this. If you follow the main road out of town, it branches off half a mile out, with a path going into the hills. Scorpion, take your clone pals up there. I will take Naruto and his _honor guard_ to my room." She gave a sarcastic smile to the girl and the clone she had called Alpha.

Her orders were followed without complaint and soon she was leaping roof from roof making her way back to her hotel room. She smiled softly, at least Shizune would be happy.

(scene break)

Ibiki walked out of the interrogation rooms wiping his hands on a wet towel. Contemplating all that he had not learned, he went to the break room for coffee. Waiting for him on the counter was Cat-san, swinging her legs in a mannerism of extreme contentment.

"So you have rounded up everyone?" Ibiki asked, wondering what could make the stoic woman swing her legs like a schoolgirl.

Cat shook her masked head. "I have been relieved of that particular duty. I am reassigned to fully attend to putting together all we have found with your help."

"Un huh," Ibiki said noncommittally, filling up his coffee cup. _Doesn't explain why she is so satisfied,_ he thought to himself. "So, what's got you so…" he couldn't find the word and just pointed at her swinging feet.

"You owe me hundred ryo," she said, and he could _hear_ the smile on her face.

"Impossible," Ibiki said. "I have this whole place watched. There's no way they are here."

"Yet," corrected Cat-san. "I told you it takes them roughly two to three hours to gather all their intel. And it has been about that long since I made my report to the Hokage about the tapes."

"And you just happened to tell the Hokage where we were keeping the tapes," Ibiki said, eyes narrowing. "That's hardly fair."

"He _is_ the Hokage and if he asks, I can't refuse. He asked," Cat explained. "So shall we? I don't want to miss it."

Ibiki shrugged and decided to humor the young woman. He was one of the few who knew she took secret pleasure in all the questionable activities that took place in her name. He flanked one side of the evidence room's door and Cat took the other. Ibiki decided to review over his sessions and decided he would ask the Hokage to bring his knowledge of Sealing to bear.

Ibiki was brought out of his musings as he felt the presence of other ninjas nearby. The ones locked in his interrogation cells were behind chakra suppression seals, so it wasn't any of them who he was detecting. Besides, the feeling was coming from inside the evidence room. He peeked through the narrow glass covered slit in the door and saw three children drop from the air duct system. Each was sporting a gray cloak and ANBU style masks - all in a cat theme.

Cat-san extended her hand, palm upwards. Ibiki took out a roll of hundred ryo and handed them to her. He was just about to get in there and bust the three (though usually four) idiots, when Cat motioned him to wait. Ibiki agreed when the three academy students started talking.

"Hinata, this really is a bad idea. Your cute looks might not get us out of trouble this time," one of the boys said in a bored tone. _The Nara boy, _Ibiki identified.

"Ano…we should be taking code names, Tabby-kun," Hinata said. "And, I'm not cute, I'm a Hyuuga, that's why they let us go."

'Tabby-kun?' Ibiki mouthed to Cat, whose shoulders were trembling in suppressed laughter at the Nara's code name.

"Fine, fine, Tiger-chan. Why'd I have to be something uncool like a tabby," Shikamaru complained as he found and put in the tape they were after and put it in the VCR.

"I believe Cat Junior gave us codenames and masks that best matched our personality. Therefore I am Panther. Why you ask? Because I am silent and deadly," the last of the trio explained.

"Hmm, doesn't follow logic, that would mean I am a tabby because I like to play with balls of string," Nara said.

"Um, Tabby-kun, it's because you like to nap…a lot…I think," Hinata answered, averting her eyes from Shikamaru, thinking the boy would be upset.

"Eh," Shikamaru agreed. "Okay, let's watch."

"Yes, let's see who took Kitten-san," Shino said.

"You know he's going to beat the crap out of you when he hears that's what you call him behind his back," Shikamaru said.

"One must stoke one's flames of youth with danger to keep them burning bright, Tabby-kun," Shino answered.

There was a pause during which all three looked around, as if they expected the originator of that ideology to suddenly be summoned. Ibiki raised a questioning brow at cat who was still giggling behind her mask. "How do they know Gai?" he asked in a whisper.

"Gai has made himself Naruto's 'most youthful honored elder brother.' After ANBU junior division selection mission at the Hokage Tower, he felt that he needed to be a more constant presence in Naruto's daily life. His friends just came along for the ride." Cat shrugged. "Not that it will hurt any of them."

"Oh…oh…no," Hinata's quiet voice echoed inside the evidence room, interrupting the two actual ANBU shinobi outside the room.

Ibiki looked in to find the panther masked boy had put his hand on the girl's shoulder to support her and she had her hands clasped in white knuckled worry. The three watched in silence and Ibiki wished he could see their faces to judge how well they were taking it. Not many hopeful shinobi got to see the really ugly side of their lives this early on, and it would reveal their mettle depending on how they dealt with their comrade's capture.

"Well, it was worth coming to see this," the boy in the tabby mask said. "We can rest easy now."

"You saw it too? The eyes?" the girl in the tiger mask asked.

"The eyes? No, I believe Tabby-san is referring to the tactics and movements," Panther said.

Shikamaru turned off the TV. "Goes to show the skills of a Hyuuga and Tiger-chan's memory. She recognized them just by the eyes. Maybe your code name should have been hawk."

"T-Thank you," the girl said shyly. "Um, I think we should go. The Hokage will be happy to hear this."

"We'd better be careful. Obviously there are disloyal ANBU around us. If they find out we know something, they'll stop us before we get to the Hokage. And, when we do, I hope the Hokage doesn't tell anyone. It's better for Kitten-kun if the traitors think someone took him from them," Shikamaru said.

"I agree," Panther said. "Tiger-chan, please do a sweep with your eyes before we get back to the ducts."

Ibiki and Cat, who had stilled at the revelations they were hearing from inside the room, became suddenly animated. They had to know what the kids had figured out. So even as Hinata was gasping, having seen them with her Byakugan, they were entering the evidence room.

Belatedly Ibiki realized that he should have let Cat, their self appointed sponsor and superior enter first, because he had to deal with two Gai style 'dynamic entry' kicks to his face. The coffee cup fell and shattered. In exchange, however, Ibiki had one boy caught by the leg and the other sprawled on the ground. He still suffered the two kicks and could feel his head ringing. That's why it took him a second to sense the slight pressure against the middle of his chest and groin. Looking down he found that in the diversion the boys had created, the Tiger masked Hyuuga had entered his guard to place a kunai at the family jewels and a prepared jyuuken strike.

"Please let Panther go, sir. I may be too short to reach your heart but I can rip your diaphragm muscles still or strike…um…excuse me…your unmentionables," the girl had started out strong and ended with a squeak at her discomfort about mentioning his privates.

Ibiki began to laugh and Cat cringed behind him, helping Tabby up who had relaxed at the sight of her. "You can let him go, Tiger-chan. Ibiki is my trusted subordinate."

Ibiki suddenly lost the laughter and gave Cat a displeased look. He was impressed at how quickly the girl responded to Cat, however. She had slipped out of arm reach in the blink of an eye and was now bowing to him in apology. Ibiki let go of the boy he was holding, and patted his head. "Nice kicks, you two. So this is the infamous Kick Ass Kitty-Chan Brigade?"

When the children didn't say anything and stared at him from behind their masks, Ibiki became unamused. "Alright, brats, tell us what you found in that video. You seem to know who took Uzumaki."

Panther answered his question, "I am afraid you do not have the clearance required."

Ibiki leaned forward getting in the boy's face. "I am the head of the Torture and Interrogation Division. Trust me, I have clearance."

"While that may be true," Tabby began. "You are not part of the Covert Cat Corps, and therefore not part of the circle of trust."

Ibiki was smiling on the inside. He _liked_ these brats, they had the audacity to stand in _his_ evidence room, after kicking _his_ face, to tell him that _he_ was not trustworthy enough. "How about I drag you to the Hokage right now for infiltrating a secret facility?"

"Ano, there's a sign on the building saying ANBU T & I Division…" Tiger-chan trailed off, before adding under her breath, "It's a very bad secret if there's a sign."

"But we would be happy to escort you to the Hokage, right, Cat-taicho?" Tabby asked. "Are you alright, captain. Hey, are you having a seizure?"

Cat coughed to cover up her laughter. "No, Tabby-kun, I'm alright, thank you. And, I think all of us need to see the Hokage in private immediately. If you have discovered something relevant to the investigation both Ibiki-san and I need to know. The Hokage and I trust Ibiki-san with our lives and I am reviewing his file to consider recruiting him in the - uh - cat corps."

Ibiki sighed, reminding himself to think that the glass was half-full; at least no one other than Cat was there to see him getting disrespected like this. "Yes, please, I want to be a cat crusader as well."

The three ANBU juniors who had somehow won the indulgence of one of the most by-the-book Kunoichi shared a glance and came to their decision. "We believe, Naruto-kun rescued himself using shadow clones," Hinata explained.

Ibiki was about to protest based on the unlikelihood of Uzumaki knowing the shadow clone technique, let alone having the chakra to use as many as he had seen, but Cat raised a hand to stall him. "How certain are you, Tiger?"

Hearing the affectionate honorific dropped from her code name, Hinata knew Cat-san was being deadly serious. "I'd stake my life on it, Cat-san." Even without the use of Byakugan, Hinata could see relief flow through the elder Kunoichi.

(scene break)

Tsunade had settled Naruto on her bed. Shizune had promptly joined her bed to Naruto's, so she could sleep by him and keep an eye on him. All the excitement was over and Tsunade could finally relax. She sat one of the extra futons she was able to charm (bully) out of the hotel staff and watched the blond girl who had brought Naruto.

The girl was sixteen or seventeen, in full bloom of youth. The bare skin of her arms, midriff, and legs showed muscles rippling underneath - _a kunoichi for certain_, Tsunade reaffirmed her initial estimation. However, the fact that the girl was wearing a set of Naruto's clothes was pissing Tsunade off. Naruto's standard black T shirt was obviously too small for the girl's bust, which the little harlot had tied off under her breasts to accentuate them. The long blond hair held in two ponytails were just the right length for her to play with coyly and seem both sweet and naughty.

Tsunade didn't realize that she had started giving off a minor killing intent as her mind became stuck on the thought that this girl was wearing Naruto's clothes. That implied things Tsunade was not comfortable with at all, and if she was right, the girl was going to be in a world of pain soon. "What exactly is your relationship with Naruto?" she asked.

The girl had been lying on the futon and idly kicking her legs in the air. She turned her head to give Tsunade a blank look. "Hmm?"

"You are wearing his clothes and you were very physical with him. So again, what _exactly_ is your relationship with Naruto?" Tsunade's fingers were tapping against her arm. Anyone who knew her could tell that this was a danger sign.

The younger blond girl still seemed confused but slowly realization dawned on her face. She gave a wicked grin. "Oh, of course I was physical with him. After all, we know every inch of each other's bodies."

"What?" Tsunade gasped. "You little whore, he's just a child, and here you are waving your flesh in front of him and _using_ him!"

The girl's eyes danced in delight. "Are you pulling a protective big sister act on me? And here I thought your heart had given up the fight crushed under those huuuuuuge breasts of yours."

"Don't worry about _my_ heart, hussy, because I am going to rip yours out and hand it to you!" Tsunade snapped in a shout-whisper.

The girl buried her face in her pillow, but it couldn't hide the squeal of her laughter fully. Tsunade decided that she would end the girl in the morning. Committing righteous murder quietly didn't appeal to her. She would do it in the morning and enjoy the girl's screams for taking advantage of an affection starved boy like Naruto.

(chapter break)


	11. Chapter 11

A.N. Sorry this is a little later than my usual update rate. Work got a little hectic, and it invaded my private time too. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, I went back to them to get inspired to buckle down and put this chapter out. Enjoy.

**11.**

Tsunade had slept lightly that night and so when she heard Naruto wake up and silently slip out of the room, she was aware of it. The girl whose name she still hadn't learned was sprawled gracelessly and snoring. Shizune was likewise asleep. Tsunade laid in her futon for a long time, trying to go back to sleep but oblivion wouldn't come. She couldn't relax knowing Naruto hadn't come back to the room.

After tossing and turning for an hour she got up in a huff and stalked out of the hotel room. She could detect his chakra at the edge of her senses even without concentrating; he wasn't too far away. Taking to the roofs she searched around and found him on the tallest building facing the hills. It took her only a few minutes to reach him.

It was chilly on top of the high rise; Tsunade pulled her green robes tighter around herself. She envied Naruto his orange jacket which was surely keeping him warm. "Good morning," she called, walking up to him.

He looked over his shoulder and nodded in greeting, but his face was absent of its usual smile. He wrote something on a pad and tore off the sheet to hand to her. Tsunade saw that it was stationary from the hotel they were staying in. 'I can't speak. Something is wrong with my tongue. Thank you for saving me,'the note said.

Tsunade motioned for him to open his mouth and he obediently did so. She saw the mess in his mouth, and the seal the clones had mentioned, in the daylight much better. She didn't recognize the seal and could see that the wound was a blessing in disguise, keeping the seal from working. She cast her eyes down feeling pity well in her heart for the boy. "I am sorry, Naruto…maybe with some surgery it would get better, but I don't think you will be back to how you were."

A warm hand rested on her cold arm. She looked at the boy who shook his head with a soft smile, as if to tell her not to be sad for him. He wrote something on his pad and handed it to her. 'We'll try once the seal is removed. It's alright' said the message.

Tsunade ruffled the boy's hair, amazed at his confidence and courage. She knew he liked to talk. The little time she had spent with him, she couldn't get him to shut up, so seeing him so silent was jarring. She was uncomfortably reminded of the way he had spoken to her when she'd said goodbye to him. _That_ boy had been too grave, too perceptive; seeing a return of that side made her sad. He was looking away unseeingly in deep thought. The tension around his eyes and shoulders was hard to ignore. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but when only garbled nonsense came out he blushed. Tsunade pretended she didn't see his embarrassment; she didn't want to make his condition any harder on him. He had started writing, but his pen seemed to have stopped, buried in the pad in indecision. She watched him resolve himself and finish. 'I killed,' it said simply.

Tsunade drew in a sharp breath, wondering how she hadn't noticed: The boy was suffering from guilt of his first kill. He looked so small and innocent, but intellectually she knew that there were children who had become ninjas younger than him and killed at that age as well. "What happened?" she asked.

'My clones killed them to rescue me.' She read over his shoulder as he wrote. He had paused again, pen to paper, and then wrote, 'The clones died too. It was painful. They were so cruel and didn't care about themselves.'

Tsunade found herself tucking Naruto in her side, with her arm draped over him. She felt the shudder and thought he was going to cry but was surprised to find the expression of revulsion on his face. 'Why?' he underlined.

"So if you were ordering them around you wouldn't have let them kill?" Tsunade asked. "Or let them die like they did?"

'No' he wrote jaggedly in frustration. 'I wouldn't have let them kill or die.'

Tsunade didn't answer for a long minute, thinking about how she should say what she wanted to. The wait seemed to calm Naruto and he relaxed in her half embrace. "Naruto, your clones are a part of you, they come back to you. So they can be reckless with their own lives without fear of never waking up again. But…you will feel their pain, their deaths. This shadow clone jutsu is forbidden for many reasons. One is that it can psychologically break the ninja using it because it forces you to experience the dying agony of so many.

"I should have told you the risk…but when we met you were using them to practice taijutsu and study. I couldn't think of a safer use for the technique."

Naruto nodded and wrote out, 'I feel responsible for the death of the clones and the people they killed.'

"You should," Tsunade said before thinking to soften her words. "Clones will always protect their originator. It is part of the structure of the technique, can you imagine if it wasn't so and a clone decided that it wanted to exist and take over the life of its originator? A clone can't kill its maker and it can't sit by while the original is in danger. Unless you specifically ordered them not to kill, they will do everything in their power to protect you. So the people they killed are the ones you killed…now before you become disgusted with yourself, who were these people that the clones killed?"

'Traitors…Danzo's own ANBU,' Naruto wrote.

He didn't see Tsunade's eyes narrow in recognition, or he would have asked her what she knew of them. But he became aware of her emotion when she kneeled and held him by the shoulders so he could do nothing but stare into her fierce eyes. "_Death_ to traitors. You did your duty! Now, come on, Shizune will be worried."

Harry followed the woman, wising he could take comfort in doing his 'duty.' He didn't feel very patriotic toward Konoha. To him, the village was just the best place to survive.

(scene break)

There was tension in the air when Harry arrived behind Tsunade in the hotel room. He couldn't see why, really. In fact the scene greeted them was somewhat heartwarming. Zulu was sitting behind Shizune brushing her hair, while the older woman had a sleepy smile of contentment on her face. The tension, Harry noted, was all coming from Tsunade. The woman was glaring holes in Zulu, who was blissfully unaware.

Harry wondered what had happened between Zulu and Tsunade, but didn't think it was unlikely that his girl clone had done something to annoy Tsunade. He wanted to ask what was wrong but playing peacemaker while only able to talk in hand written notes was cumbersome. So for the moment he ignored it and did the next best thing, which was to create a distraction.

Making the hand-seal for his transformation jutsu he concentrated on it so he could cast it silently. It was the first time he was attempting to cast a ninja technique without the words. The chakra built up and with a larger cloud than usual he performed the transformation Zulu had been working on.

Given how the three women were looking at him, he presumed it had worked. Tsunade poked his shoulder and raised a light brow in thought. Shizune mirrored Zulu's goofy smile, Harry expecting both the women to start making nonsensical noises soon enough.

He wasn't wrong. In tandem Zulu and Shizune 'awwed,' and before he could think to ward them off, each had a cheek pinched in her fingers. Shizune was cooing, "Ne, Tsunade-sama, isn't he the most adorable thing?"

"Doesn't he totally?" Zulu agreed, smothering Harry in her breasts.

Harry was saved by Tsunade who plucked him from the back of his shirt and brought him up eye level. She regarded him seriously. "Hmmm, a little unreal, and too soft. Remarkable transformation technique, though. This isn't a normal chakra construct, you've performed a physical transformation."

Zulu scoffed, "As if I would settled for anything less."

Tsunade dropped Harry and turned toward the other blond girl. "And, you! Time for us to have our talk. Let's take this outside."

Zulu opened her blue eyes wide and cocked her head to the side in expression of fetching confusion. "Ano…take what outside, exactly?"

Tsunade's expression became thunderous. "Did you think I was going to take you sexually taking advantage of a child lying down?"

Harry's eyes widened in shock and in stark incongruence to the tense moment Zulu began laughing. Tsunade knocked her head off – literally. Harry had a moment to feel horrified at seeing Zulu's head snap off her neck like a doll, before she burst in smoke, and her memories invaded his mind. Luckily her death had been sudden and painless, so he could focus on the knowledge of what had happened between his girl clone and Tsunade.

While he was warmed by Tsunade's concern, he was more than a little pissed that she had killed a sixteen year old girl with little thought. He made the hand seal for the shadow clone technique with his own spin on it, and out popped Zulu fully formed and rubbing her head.

"Oh my god!" Shizune finally found her voice, she had watched the death of her new found friend in silent shock till then.

Harry and Zulu fixed Tsunade with identical disgusted looks. It was Zulu who spoke however. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you, woman? What if I wasn't a clone? You would have killed a little girl just like that?"

Tsunade, who had been stunned at her own lack of control and the sudden roller coaster of emotions that came with realizing she hadn't really killed someone, chose to glare back. "What did you expect me to do? You're the one who kept leading me on, making me think you were sleeping with Naruto!"

"Well, what if I was? Were you just going to kill me?" Zulu snapped.

Tsunade lowered her voice. "No…I meant to only break your jaw."

Zulu's expression changed from fury to bright sunny happiness. "Oh? Ok then. I'm glad you're so concerned about us. But you really have to control yourself."

A finger poked Zulu's breasts. Both Tsunade and Zulu looked at Shizune's thoughtful face incredulously. Tsunade reached forward and removed Shizune's finger from Zulu's breast. "…Shizune?"

"They're real and so perky! Isn't it weird being a girl for you Naruto?" Shizune asked Zulu but her eyes went to rest on Harry.

For his part Harry just shrugged, he tried not thinking how comfortable Naruto had been in his 'sexy' form. He wrote out a message and gave it to Shizune, 'It's weird but once you put on a sports bra, it isn't too bad.'

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Can you tell me _why_ you have a girl form? Are you some sort of pervert?"

Harry simply shook his head and walked past her to find his futon to slip into. He had spent a restless night and now that he was a little relaxed he wanted some shut eye. Besides, explaining to Tsunade why Naruto had created a girl version was one confession he didn't care to go into.

"Hey, gorilla woman, call him Harry from now on. Can't have someone accidentally finding out Naruto is alive and with you," Zulu explained. "That's the whole point of having disguises like a girl self and a cutie pie brooding self."

Harry smiled softly and shut his eyes. Zulu was the best thing to happen to him in a while, he thought, and mulishly ignored that she was simply an aspect of him.

Tsunade let the girl distract her, noting that she was allowing such things too often. There were so many things she wanted to question about Naruto, so many abilities of his that just did not make sense and were suspicious. But she kept the words of her dead grandmother close to her heart. 'You must not look too deeply, Tsun-tsun. Do not question him,' the words rang through her mind, making her scowl at her own obedience. Sooner or later she was going to ignore grandmother's admonishment and sit Naruto down for a heart to heart.

(scene break)

Shikaku was leaning against a wall in the Hokage tower waiting for his son. The slight frown on his scarred face was the only indication that he was worried. The ever present slouch of the Jounin Commander threw off any casual observers.

After a few moments a miniature version of him slunk up to him and chose a piece of wall next to him to lean against. Hands firmly in his pockets, his son looked the picture of a lazy good-for-nothing. "Infiltration was successful. Here's your pass card." The little boy slipped his father's special access card into his father's pocket. "Ibiki found us along with Cat-san, but they didn't question how we got past security."

Shikaku grunted in a manner which both said 'I have heard you' and 'get on with it.' Knowing his father well enough, Shikamaru did just that. "Can't say anything, pops. Hokage swore us to secrecy." He shrugged apologetically.

Shikaku observed his son from the corner of his eye. "You don't look very tense."

"Let's just say I heard some good news," Shikamari said and then slunk off the way he had come.

The Jounin Commander smiled to himself; both in pride of his son's successful mission to infiltrate the investigation he was being kept out of, and the way the boy had passed him enough information to put him at ease without breaking his word to the Hokage. He pushed off the wall, resolving to get his wife flowers. The damned woman had been right to encourage Shikamaru's involvement of the blasted ANBU juniors.

Despite himself Shikaku was beginning to wonder if he really had been wrong and his wife wasn't simply being desperate that the ANBU Juniors were real and had given her hopelessly apathetic son a purpose. Real or not, Shikaku mused, the kids were surprisingly good.

Now that Shikaku was assured that the Uzumaki boy had made it out of his situation somehow or another, he wasn't so afraid that the Hokage was going to take his head.

(scene break)

Alpha walked in a trudging pace up the scraggy path in the hills where the scorpion troops were hiding. He could have disapparated but he needed time to think, after all, he was the first clone the Boss had made with the responsibility to specifically make decisions on his behalf while the Boss recovered. Despite knowing that he was a clone, Alpha couldn't think of himself as being different than Harry or Naruto. He _felt_ like them, he wished for the same things, was upset by the same things, ached for the same lost friends, and cherished the same sweet moments of affection Harry had experienced in his life.

Alpha sighed deeply; he knew most other clones did not have to worry as much as him. Most of them were created with specific purpose in mind and they could focus on that purpose while happily ignoring all else – they were much like Naruto in that regard, Alpha thought, the blond boy could bury his pain and concentrate on raising Hell with frightening clarity.

His foot slipped on the wet rocky surface making him fall forward on his hands. Alpha watched with wide blue eyes the sharp corner of a rock sitting only inches away from his head – if he hadn't caught himself, he'd be dead, and then where would the Boss be? The sudden fall was enough to get Alpha out of his reflection and he focused back on his responsibility: Taking care of the Boss.

"Careful," a voice said.

Alpha looked up to see Scorpion standing on the bough of a tree, looking forbidding in his masked face and crossed arms stance. "How are the boys?" Alpha asked; channeling chakra into his legs to bound up to Scorpion.

The other clone nodded slowly. "Antsy. We are hiding in the trees and underbrush. The boys were made to practice and stay active. All this silent hiding in the shadows thing isn't their thing."

Alpha sat on the bough and slumped to rest his arms on his knees, looking like a sullen child. If Iruka had seen him, he'd probably think Naruto had gotten chewed out by a teacher again. "Ma, things are getting complicated."

Scorpion scoffed. "You're telling me."

Alpha smiled – it was an old joke the clones liked to repeat amongst themselves. Of course, every clone knew what every clone was feeling or thinking; in theory at least. "How are the boys handling the memories of dying?"

Scorpion shrugged and looked out at the leaves glinting bright green in the sunlight. He seemed mesmerized by them, but Alpha waited patiently, unwilling to push the only other clone besides Zulu who had decision making power like him. "Our fighting style isn't suited for in-close battle. We die in a single hit. The boys are scared they won't be able to defend the boss. Of course, the boss will be alright, he can take a hit or two, so he can fight clone quarters. But _we_ are useless," Scorpion spat.

Alpha nodded. "Ninjutsu then?" he asked, thinking a step ahead to what Scorpion must have already concluded for himself.

"Genjutsu first, ninjutsu and long range weaponry next," Scorpion answered, and then elaborated when he saw Alpha raise a brow in confusion. "Illusions will hide our numbers and positions, if we can trap our opponents in a genjutsu, they won't ever see us coming. Besides we can do magic, mix that in with genjutsu and we will blur the line between reality and illusion."

Scorpions mask shifted in a way that made Alpha think the other clone was smiling happily, Alpha returned the smile and said, "Sounds like a great idea, but we have been training in using mother's special style that is mid range combat. We clones can still support the boss up close with that."

"Huh? Which mother?" Scorpion asked, sounding like an oblivious ten year old.

Alpha rolled his eyes. "Kushina mum, of course. Haven't figured out how to use Lily mum's 'Death killing love shield jutsu.'"

Scorpion frowned at his brother clone and snapped, "You don't have to be so sarcastic about it. The boys came up with a good name for that jutsu."

Alpha just sighed, "You bastards want us to go in battle shouting about the power of love like Dumbledore?"

Scorpion hoped that Alpha couldn't see him blushing in embarrassment behind his face mask. "Whatever. When are you sending Zulu back, I want her to start training in long weapons. She has the reach and physical strength to start using a staff or a nodachi."

Alpha let the other clone change the subject. "Zulu can't come, the boss can't talk, and she can guess what he'll need when, so she's staying with him to watch out for him. Besides, just tell some of the boys to use the sexy no jutsu to change into girl clones and start learning."

"Yeah, right. As if I am going to unleash a squad of _our_ girl clones. Zulu is the only one who can control them, the boss created her with a lot more care than the bozos I have to train. I don't need another headache, never mind, we'll focus on other things for now," Scorpion said.

Alpha had to agree that their girl self was a handful, just spending a day with Zulu had been hard enough, and _she_ was more sensible than most of the clones that Scorpion had to deal with. "Scorpion, I'm sorry, but your training plans will have to adjust."

Scorpion shot him an intense look. "…The boss's injuries are worse than they looked, right? More healing techniques training then?"

Alpha shook his head. "The seal on his tongue is the problem. We don't know what all it does and we have to get rid of it. Can't go anywhere near Root or Danzo until we have it taken care of."

Scorpion nodded. "Some of the boys have been studying sealing, ever since Mito-dono started coaching them. Their brush work is pretty good by now."

"The seal was designed by Root and we know Danzo is no idiot. We need to be very good at sealing," Alpha said.

"To be 'very good' we'd need years, Alpha," Scorpion argued.

"A hundred clones working twenty-four hours a day, for thirty days, will equal eight years of training." Alpha fixed Scorpion with his unbending gaze. "Will that be good enough?"

Scorpion was frowning. "We would have to dispel every day and the boss would have to create more of us every day. That doesn't even account for him having to deal with eight _years_ worth of knowledge being dumped in his head. Are you trying to drive him insane?"

"Not I," Alpha answered softly. "But there is something else…Scorpion…the demon fox has awoken. It is intent on fixing his _vessel_," Alpha spat, "We need to get rid of the seal, heal his tongue, before the boss loses the fight against the fox."

Scorpion's muscles were tensed in fear. "The boss will never lose!"

Alpha sighed sadly, "The demon's chakra is invading the boss's body, Scorpion. It is always there, waiting, what if the boss is not vigilant for a moment? I think that is all it would take."

"God damn the Yondaime," Scorpion cursed.

"…yeah," agreed Alpha softly. "Nice little parting gift he's left his son, hasn't he?"

"Not that our life has ever been easy," Scorpion said. "Fine, I am stopping all other training. I am going to summon Mito-dono and tell her to give me names of seal masters she's known. We'll summon all of them and take their knowledge." With that Scorpion disapparated.

(scene break)

Severus Snape found himself summoned in the woods and he was taken aback by seeing Potter as he was when he was a child, instead of the blond haired menace Snape had come to know recently. Snape inclined his head a little in respect, knowing instinctively that he was in the presence of the real Harry Potter and not one of his clones.

"Milord," he greeted, trying to read the expression on Harry's shadowed face. The trees stopped even the starlight from illuminating his lord.

Fiery letters appeared where Harry traced the air with a finger. 'I cannot speak, my tongue is injured. Has Danzo been caught?'

Snape's brows rose in surprise; he would expect that Potter was capable of healing his injuries given his access to the powers of the Elder Wand. Still he was intelligent enough not to bring up the subject. "Unfortunately, Danzo remains free. The Hokage put some of his best men on Danzo, but Danzo has been very careful to have nothing trace back to him. The man has spent his time in his house, having received no guests and supposedly cut off from communication."

Harry traced letters in the air again, 'He moved before we were ready. We didn't find any evidence to link him to Root, what are the chances the Hokage can?"

Severus paused hesitantly; he was bound to answer but knew what he had to say would not please his master. "Milord…in my estimation, Danzo will not be caught soon. There is nothing linking him to your abduction. Only a prolonged investigation might turn up something. However…the longer he remains free the longer he has to erase any tracks."

The spy heard his master sigh and ask, 'Now what?'

Severus crossed his arms, readying himself for the argument that was going to come. He answered his master, "Now we assassinate Danzo."

His master's green eyes snapped up to his and pierced him. Severus had always hated it when the boy looked at him with those eyes, the eyes that were so much like his mother's. A moment later Snape was shocked to see his master nod in agreement.

"Then with your permission, milord, I will begin planning the mission. I must ensure there is no second in command waiting to take Danzo's place," Snape said and bowed.

When Potter disappeared from his peripheral vision, Snape raised his head and smiled in self-satisfaction. Perhaps serving Potter was not going to be as onerous as he had once thought. He did not know that he had Tsunade to thank for Harry's new attitude towards his enemies.


	12. Chapter 12

**A.N. Thanks for all the greatly inspiring reviews. Please read the note at the end of the chapter.**

**12.**

It was well into the night and a slight chill invaded the Hokage office to make Koharu and Homura uncomfortable. The summons had come suddenly, giving them little time to arrive at the tower. Both of the elderly retired shinobi were skilled enough to know that no other nin was in the room besides the Hokage. Whatever reason he had to summon them was confidential enough to even make his bodyguards wait outside.

Candlelight made shadows dance across the Hokage's face and the smoke from his pipe wreathed his visage. The man's dark eyes had been upon them as soon as they had entered the office, but despite being greeted, he had stayed silent. Koharu wished he would turn on the electric lights and break his silence. She knew from the way Sarutobi was looking at them that he was angry - angry at _them_. She wanted to catch Homura's eye but the stern looking man was simply looking back at Sarutobi. She wanted to sigh, to make a move to break the tension, but any such act would be a sign of weakness, of admission of guilt. The three of them knew each other too well; they had been together since their genin days, after all.

"Sixty years of history, sixty years of trust…which you have betrayed twice in the space of a scant six years," Sarutobi whispered.

"I thought we agreed that we would never speak of the Uchiha situation again," Koharu snapped caustically. "But since we are, it was not _we_ who betrayed the village."

"No, you betrayed my confidence then and now again. Tell me, Koharu, when did you start thinking than an order of your Hokage was an advisement, a mere _suggestion_, instead of a command?" Sarutobi returned in the same quiet whisper.

"There were necessary measures, you-" Homura began before being cut off.

"Do _not_ presume to lecture me on what is necessary, Homura. I have worn the robes of the Hokage for more than a half century. You dare insult me thus?" Sarutobi finally raised his voice.

Homura's eyes behind his square spectacles tensed and his face became dourer than usual. "Hiruzen, the child was showing signs of otherworldly abilities. A physical transformation technique, his ability to confound the vision of the seeing orb…his loyalty needed to be ensured."

Koharu spoke in support, "He is not Mito-dono or Kushina. Mito-dono was a Kunoichi of incredible will and she had trained Kushina before the burden passed to her. Naruto is just a child. How can you allow him to not be trained?"

Sarutobi scoffed. "You must think me a fool. It is precisely because Naruto is a child that he could not be trained. Mito-dono was a grown woman when she took the burden upon herself, and Kushina was groomed for her sacrifice. They both had a conception of self-identity powerful enough to handle the fox and resist it. You in your _infinite_ wisdom," he spat sarcastically, "want to bring out the consciousness of the demon fox, the greatest of the tailed demons, in a child who has had little opportunity to gain faith in himself. If it were not for me and a handful others, the child would only have known neglect and contempt. You want to throw such a child into the clutches of the demon fox and expect him to have the strength of will to withstand and dominate it?"

"But Hiruzen…you've read reports of other Jinchuriki children, they go insane if they are not watched, if they aren't handled," Koharu protested quietly, but Sarutobi's words had affected her. She had not thought of how Naruto had been treated by the village – she reflected the boy should have little loyalty to Konoha.

Homura shook his head. "Lightning has proven that Jinchuriki can be trained from childhood."

"Killer B knew both acceptance and affection before he was sacrificed. He had true bonds to his humanity before he was expected to deal with a demon, as did Nii Yugito." Sarutobi set his pipe aside and fixed them both with a glare. "Do not presume to know more about the Jinchuriki than I do. I have been planning Naruto's training since the day the demon was sealed in him; his prospective sensei has been gathering the intelligence that you are incompletely quoting back to me, Homura."

"If we had known-" Koharu began.

"It is not your place to know everything I do, Koharu. I trust you to follow my orders, I trust you to not betray me, I trust you to have greater wisdom than either of you have displayed." Sarutobi stood, looking like a terrifying specter in the shadows. "You two have betrayed me, your treacherous act of ostracizing the Jinchuriki has endangered Konoha by putting him at risk of losing his humanity, and you only need to look at the reports of the Sand's Jinchuriki to know how imbecilic your actions were, Homura, Koharu. And, finally, you took Naruto from my protection when you removed Umino Iruka from the village. _Do you realize what you have done?_"

Homura shifted in his seat, wondering if he should admit that Danzo had the boy and that Naruto had not been kidnapped by an outside force. Breaking from his stolid demeanor he turned his head to catch Koharu's eyes. But Koharu was looking at Hiruzen in white faced shock at the condemnations.

Before Homura could say anything, Sarutobi spoke again. "Oh, and what are you looking at Koharu for, Homura? Perhaps to silently comfort her with your shared knowledge that Naruto is safe in the clutches of the person you allowed to abduct him!"

There was deathly silence at the Hokage's words. The desk surface had splintered in web shaped cracks, under Sarutobi's slammed fist. Homura had considered himself Hiruzen's closest and oldest friend along with Koharu. He had seen the man in every situation imaginable, displaying every emotion one experiences in a lifetime. But he had never expected to see the face directed at him that Hiruzen wore when looking at an enemy.

Koharu opened her mouth to calm her old friend, "Hiruzen-"

"Do not dare address me so familiarly, Koharu! You spat at our friendship when you betrayed me. You violated more than sixty years of trust and affection, and you forgot not only _who_ I am but _what_ I am," Sarutobi spoke coldly, taking his chair again.

Koharu felt as if a knife had lodged in her throat at Hiruzen's words. "Hokage-sama…the boy is safe. He will be returned."

Homura nodded, wondering how he could have made the mistakes in judgment he had. In the face of Hiruzen's righteous and fierce anger, the old councilman could only think that he must have been drunk to have been so foolish. All the worry and anger at the Jinchuriki's abilities had disappeared, and only a vague feeling of having woken up from a dream was in his heart.

He frowned at the growing realization; he never would have ignored the knowledge gained from their spies in other villages that child Jinchuriki when trained as the Sand's had been were unstable. The emotion deadening training Danzo had proposed would have been too much like what the Sand had done. "Yes," he said slowly. "I will bring the boy back myself. I give you my word, Hiru-," he stumbled on the name of his friend, "Hokage-sama."

"You have twenty-four hours," Sarutobi said. "Dismissed."

The Hokage watched his two lifelong friends rise and bow to him before departing. He was filled with a deep sense of loss and regret. He could have handled such betrayal from anyone but them. Anyone but the two he expected would provide him solace and comfort as they had since before he learned to throw a kunai.

Two shadows entered through the open window in his office. He looked up to find Kakashi and Gai, an unlikely but dangerous pair. No one expected Gai to be given investigation and infiltration missions, the man simply had too much of a presence for such delicate tasks, and that was precisely why he was chosen now because he would be overlooked. Although, the young jounin had given the Hokage little choice, having begged him to be given the chance to find his 'little brother.'

"Cat is shadowing them. Was the meeting successful?" Kakashi asked, when he realized that the Hokage wasn't about to speak anytime soon.

Sarutobi shook himself dispelling the gloom that had set upon him like a cloak. "Yes. They were unaware that Danzo's men have lost Naruto. They were certain they could get him back."

Gai nodded with an unusual somber expression. "Faced with your ultimatum they will panic when they find Naruto is no longer with Root and perhaps even make that most unyouthful Danzo-san incriminate himself."

Sarutobi quirked a half-smile at Gai's description of Danzo. The eccentric young man was subdued but that did not cure him of his oddities. "Most unyouthful indeed, Gai," he sighed and looked away from the two to stare unseeingly at the candle flames, contemplating the loss of his friends again.

Kakashi and Gai left quietly, signaling the ANBU to return to their guard positions inside the Hokage office.

(scene break)

A fine drizzle poured on the traditional mansion of a great family now long dead. Their home now served as a hotel, run by much humbler and poorer relatives. While the many sprawling buildings needed repair, there was an aged magnificence in the worn wood and sweeping roofs. Stone tōrō lamps, cracks running on their intricately carved surfaces, spilled light upon the courtyard surrounded by verandas.

Shizune sat on one such veranda with a cushion to rest her knees on. Absently she threaded her fingers through the blond girl's hair who had her head in her lap. The blond girl had slept off a long time ago, unable to keep the vigil that Shizune seemed to be. In the light rain, the boy she had developed so much affection for in one short meeting several months back, was practicing taijutsu. The night had grown old and the rain had been constant, but the boy continued flowing through his kata, as quiet as the night, as relentless as the rain.

The brunette sighed in worry for the boy. It has been a month since he had joined them, and since then he had maintained that brooding visage that Shizune could simply not break through. Sometimes she thought Tsunade-sensei would cure him of whatever was ailing him, surely it wasn't just the the injury on his tongue that had made him so melancholy. But her sensei did not seem to see what Naruto - _no, 'Harry'_- Shizune corrected herself in her mind - She did not see what Harry's mood was doing to himself and Zulu. Shizune sighed again, she shouldn't have expected more from her sensei; the older woman hadn't ever dealt with her own emotions well, she wouldn't know what to do with another's.

It was as if her thoughts had summoned Tsunade because she stepped out of her room, pushing aside the traditional paper walls. Shizune nodded in greeting and turned back to watching Harry. She wanted to call out to Harry and tell him his clothes would be too wet to travel in the next day - he had only so few. She smiled softly at the memory of her buying clothes for Harry and how the boy had accepted the gift reverently. Shizune understood without being told that she was perhaps the first person to give the young boy a present in his memory. Harry had faithfully worn the kimino and hakama since, and attracted the attention of only too many mothers who wanted to cuddle him for his cuteness, Shizune thought proudly.

"He's still at it?" Tsunade asked quietly, sitting so her legs hung off the lip of the veranda.

"Yes," Shizune answered just as softly. "It's calming to watch him, he moves beautifully, but I'm also worried...he hasn't stopped for hours. Something is bothering him."

Tsunade scoffed. "You worry too much, Shizune."

"Hai," Shizune said, unwilling to get into a long discussion with her sensei about how she didn't worry needlessly. It was an argument she never truly won with the stubborn older woman.

"I wish my grandmother could see him now," Tsunade said. She continued when Shizune looked at her in question, "You noticed the taijutsu he has been practicing is not one I've taught him or anything Konoha's academy teaches, right?"

Shizune nodded and shifted her hand from Zulu's hair to rest it on her ear, so that the girl wasn't disturbed by the conversation. Zulu just buried her head deeper against Shizune's stomach and kept sleeping on.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at the blond girl acting like a baby with Shizune, but ignored her in favor of answering Shizune's question. "His taijutsu style is that of the village hidden in the whirlpools...the village my grandmother came from."

Shizune's frowned. "But, sensei, that village was destroyed...who besides you could have taught him? That is, if your grandmother taught you their style."

"She _did_ teach me, in fact, my chakra enhanced strength technique is something I developed to help me reach the final stage of the whirlpool taijutsu style." Tsunade laughed lightly. "Actually, I wasn't making headway in the final stage, and developed my technique as a short cut. Grandmother wasn't amused...and she died shortly after, I never completed my training."

Shizune bowed her head in respect for the grief she heard in her master's voice, and she forgot the question in her mind about where Harry had learned the style. She was simply amazed that one of her master's most famous techniques was simply a step to something else. "Ma, wish we had some Sake, I've sat up half the night anyway," she complained instead.

"You're finally beginning to learn from me," Tsunade teased. "Well, I better go and help that idiot."

Shizune watched happily as Tsunade fell into step with Harry, beginning to flow into the circuitous movements of the kata he was practicing. She saw Harry's surprise and then the soft smile that only graced his face when someone was kind to him. Even without him talking much, she had learned to understand him. She just hoped that he knew how much he had come to mean to her. By giving her master someone who depended on her, he had begun to heal Tsunade of her coldness. Shizune smiled sadly to herself; after all, whatever she had been trying to do hadn't cured Tsunade. The brunette sighed deeply, sometimes she wondered if she had exchanged worrying about Tsunade for worrying for Harry. It was just her luck to be saddled with two emotionally distraught stubborn mules, she thought uncharitably. "Thank god for you. You're the one keeping me sane," she whispered to the girl sleeping in her lap.

Mid kata Tsunade spun into Harry, attacking him with a wide arching swing. Harry reacted without surprise, sweeping under the arm and striking a chakra enhanced fist in the small of Tsunade's back. Unfortunately for him, Tsunade pirouetted at the last moment and caught Harry in a low spinning kick, easily sending him crashing to the flagstone floor. Shizune grinned; if nothing else, Harry had helped her master control her strength again – Shizune didn't have nearly the same severe injuries she used to get on the odd day her master was in the mood to spar. Yet another way Zulu had helped her by dropping in their lives and getting her head knocked off.

(scene break)

Early morning Shizune awoke to find Tsunade with her hands on Harry's temples as he slept. Their shared room was more or less still dim, but Shizune could just make out the slight tension of her master's brow. She waited silently till Tsunade leaned back and sighed, rubbing her back.

"Sensei?" Shizune quietly prompted.

"It's not getting better. The foreign presence is still there and he's still fighting it. I think sooner than later we will have to find Jiraiya – unless…" she trailed off when Harry stirred in his sleep and turned on his side. Shizune knew the 'foreign' presence to be demonic chakra and begun worrying anew.

Shizune stood and slipped out of the room, imagining her master would soon follow. When Tsunade walked out into the light, Shizune noted the bags under the woman's eyes. She must have stayed up late trying to heal him, Shizune thought. "You were saying, sensei?"

"I once asked my grandmother how she dealt with having a demon sealed inside her," Tsunade said abruptly, leaning against an awning post. Shizune was surprised; the 'Jinchuriki' topic was one they only ever discussed in vague terms for security's sake. And they discussed it often given that Tsunade had been trying to heal Harry of the demon's influence on his mind.

"Hai," Shizune said. "Did she have a technique?"

Tsunade shrugged. "I don't know…what she said might have been just something to ease the mind of a silly little grandchild. But, she said that she was filled with love – love for my grandfather, for me, for all of us, and that kept the demon away. So unless we can get him to use that we'd have to take him to Jiraiya for his expertise in the sealing arts."

Shizune frowned and crushed the impulse to dismiss Mito-sama's words for just being a romantic story meant to fascinate her grandchild. Shizune had been trained deeply in the ailments and cures of the mind. She could break the hold of illusionary techniques and heal the mind of the damage caused by them. Her master's kill, only naturally, far exceeded hers. So she had been sure that when Tsunade had found the demon's chakra in Harry's mind, the legendary medic would have been able to beat it back – but after a month the woman hadn't been able to. Perhaps, it was time to search for meaning in Mito-sama's pretty tale.

Tsunade quirked her lips in a small knowing smile. "You don't believe it any more than I do, but there is something to be said about the emotion powered techniques we know. If the demon's chakra is a malevolent presence, then, maybe…a chakra of opposite nature is needed to counteract it."

"Love natured chakra?" Shizune snorted. "I don't know, sensei…I suppose a yin release type chakra could be influenced by positive emotions," she mused, referring to the spiritual half of a person's chakra.

"If we can have chakra inundated with demonic hate and bloodlust, maybe we can have its counter. Either way, it would mean that Naruto," Tsunade rolled her eyes when Shizune hushed her for using _that_ name, "fine, it would mean that _Harry_ would have to meditate on his yin chakra and focus on…"

"Love," Shizune finished for the woman without a lot of confidence in her voice. "Ne, sensei, I don't think Harry is filled with a lot of happy thoughts right now."

Tsunade snorted and shared a laugh with her eternal apprentice. The two women quieted and looked out at the courtyard that had become a training ground last night. Luckily Tsunade and Harry had been careful of the property and the place retained its tranquility. Tsunade began in a reflective voice, "You've been trying very hard to care for him, Shizune. He lets himself feel for you." Somehow Shizune could hear what Tsunade hadn't said, which was that Harry didn't let himself become too close to Tsunade.

Shizune pretended she didn't hear the unsaid part and just griped, "He hardly spends any time with me, sensei. I just get to spoil Zulu."

"Zulu is Harry, Harry is Zulu. He sees how much affection you have for the hussy, and I can see in his eyes when he looks at you…there's hope," Tsunade said.

Shizune blushed at the pleasure and embarrassment; her master typically liked to be blunt and obtuse about emotional things. Her being so reflective was unbalancing. "He just needs someone to care for him," she said a little lamely.

"Ha! Who knew that my prayers for a man to come and save my apprentice from becoming a spinster would be answered by a boy whose balls haven't even dropped yet? Well, at least, he'll be an interesting bed-warmer with all those clones he can make," Tsunade said in a conspiratorial tone with wink and a playful nudge.

"Tsunade sensei!" Shizune yelped, reddening. "Don't say such perverted things, I swear you are just as bad as Jiraiya-sama." _And to think I was just lamenting that she wasn't being her usual brash self,_ Shizune groused internally. "Maybe sensei should try _her_ charms on him, since _she_ looks so much closer to _his_ age."

"So easy to tease," Tsunade chuckled, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. Suddenly she lost her humor. "No…I think I lost that chance with him the first day I met him."

Shizune knew her master was thinking back to the moment she had cruelly told off Naruto for naively thinking they were family. Shizune could still remember the flash of deep hurt that had crossed the blond boy's face before it had settled into cold but polite aloofness. "You have to try, sensei…he needs it."

The woman shook her head and began walking away, throwing only this over her shoulder, "One drowning man cannot help another drowning man, Shizune. I can't be what he needs…no matter how much I wish I was still capable of it."

Shizune's heart clenched in agony for her master. However, she understood; Tsunade had been denying herself the joy and pain of feeling for so long, she had forgotten how to. It worried Shizune that Tsunade thought Naruto was the same way and she was frightened by her own instinct which told her that Tsunade was right, Naruto was hiding from his grief. Shizune just wished she knew what had so deeply hurt the boy. To be like Tsunade he would have had to lose almost everyone he ever cared about.

(scene break)

Hinata was sprawled in front of the memorial stone while the morning chill cooled her sweating face. The noise of her panting breath was loud in her ears and her hands trembled in Gai-san's grip. He was gently wrapping her fingers in bandages and soon helped her work through stretches after yet another morning of conditioning.

Hinata didn't say anything to the man, just like she hadn't said anything to him since the day she had been let out of the Hokage's protective custody, and shown up to join Gai for his morning training. He had looked at her downcast eyes then and without any questions told her to keep up. She had come before crack of dawn, just as Naruto used to, and taken his place to train with Gai.

Hinata was deeply thankful that Gai never tried to console her, or allay her worries, like Shino and Shikamaru tried to, though she was happy to have such concerned friends. Gai simply understood her need – her need for penance, for not being smart enough to recognize Naruto had been in trouble, and her need to get strong, so something like that never happened again. And, maybe, just maybe, her need to have a way to remember him; so he wasn't just a discarded topic of interest in Konoha's rumor mill.

So Hinata fought her worry and remembered Naruto by sweating and bleeding every morning with Gai. Sometimes, even Shikamaru showed up – but she wondered if it was because Gai would inevitably make her carry the lazy boy on their run to challenge her. She had a sneaking suspicion the Nara's supportive gesture coincided with the days his mother woke him up early to take care of their deer. Hinata didn't care, she was happy to have a dedicated friend. Even if he took naps while getting a piggyback ride from her.

(Chapter break)

A.N. Okay, I really needed to write some of the dark side of Harry's predicament, and this chapter was primarily that. I felt that showing Harry's struggle with the demon and his grief would be better portrayed through the eyes of other people.

Plus I want all of you to see that Harry, unlike Naruto in canon, isn't simply accepting the fox's presence and is fighting it. Naruto had used the fox, without much concern for what it was doing to him; Harry is wary of the power. This will be a theme in my story: Having a demon sealed inside you doesn't simply mean you have a super-chakra-battery to tap into, it has consequences - muhahaha, etc. :)


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: As always Harry Potter and Naruto are not my property.

A.N. Glad some of you got the reference to Shisui's eye, that will be revealed 'in-story' as well. Happy that some of you liked seeing Harry's predicament through the eyes of other characters. Also, a lot of you gave me great ideas and encouragement this time, so THANK YOU!

**13.**

The green robes had been cast aside long ago, the arches of her feet hurt in the high heeled sandals she wore, blood painted her pale skin, but her lips stretched in fierce joy. A chain tipped with a sharp spike wrapped around her torso and threw her into a tree. She stood, relishing the sweat on her skin, the blood on her tongue, even the abrasions on her muscled stomach left by the chain weapon made of chakra. The chain had cut cleanly through her obi and the taters of the kimono style blouse she wore could no longer ensure her modesty; her well-endowed bust spilled freely, making her opponent blush as red as his shirt. Tsunade took the opportunity to launch at him, chakra enhanced speed making her seem just a pale blur.

The green eyed boy took one of Tsunade's famous punches straight to the face and crashed into a tree himself. The hit made him lose concentration on the chakra chain he had manifested from his back, Tsunade was happy to note. The boy had caught her by surprise using Kushina's unique weapon, but she had recovered enough. She walked to him, pulling her waist length hair forward so it covered her front; it was almost sweet that he couldn't concentrate in their spars once she took off her loose green robe, revealing her curves. She rested a hand on his cheek, already healing him. "Good job, brat, not as good as someone else I've seen use chakra chains, but I'll get you there."

Harry mumbled something then raised his hand and traced a message in the air. Where his finger travelled, fiery letters appeared: I swear I would've won if the genjutsu you put on your tits didn't distract me. Tsunade scowled and waved her hand through the fiery message, trying to dispel it. "There isn't a genjutsu on them!" she hissed.

The boy just grunted in a disbelieving manner. He pulled himself up to sit against the tree that had a Harry size indent in it, and traced another message: Then why can't I look away?

Tsunade blushed when Shizune giggled in the background. She stepped away from Harry to pick up her green robes and wrapped them around herself. Although she was enjoying herself, the fact that Naruto had pulled out one of his dead mother's techniques worried her. She no longer could go without having a proper conversation with the boy about his skills. There was no avoiding it anymore; she would have to go find Jiraiya to help the boy, because she wasn't interrogating the brat when he could only write out his answers. She needed to hear the inflections in his voice, see the expressions on his face, to learn the things he wouldn't tell her when she inevitably asked the questions Mito-dono didn't want her asking.

"Shizune!" Tsunade barked, startling the young woman who was helping Harry stand. "We're going to Konoha."

"But, sensei, Harry-kun can't go back there - what about Danzo?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade made an impatient sound. "That one eyed conniver isn't looking for _Harry_. As long as the brat keeps up his transformation, it won't be a problem. I can't take him where we're going next."

Harry caught her eyes and traced a message in the air: Where are you going?

Tsunade smirked. "I need to find Konoha's most perverted spy master. Don't worry, I will come back for you...and if you go back without being a brat, I will teach you one of my special techniques." She pointed at the diamond shaped mark on her head. She watched those big green eyes get even bigger in excitement and knew she had the boy where she wanted him.

"The Yin seal?" Shizune said with a smile. "I see...Harry-kun could use experience with Yin release type techniques."

Tsunade shared a knowing look with her apprentice; perhaps, if Naruto could learn to differentiate the yin and yang of his chakra, he could work towards his own style of demon resistant techniques.

(Scene break)

It was two weeks later and finally they were a week's journey as a shinobi runs from Konoha. Harry was amazed it had only taken them two weeks to travel from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall to be so close to Konoha. He could tell that something was eating at Tsunade; whereas the woman was prone to wander lackadaisically, she was forcing them to run using chakra enhanced speed day in and day out. Whatever she needed to see this Jiraiya person for was pressing.

He was uncomfortably aware that he was already missing the two women with the thought that he would be separated from them. He hadn't had to hide around them at all, they accepted him if he showed odd skills, they accepted him if he was moody, or sarcastic. It was deeply comforting and now he had to go back without their silent support.

Another part of him was excited to see Shino, Shika, and Hinata again. He felt guilty for leaving Hinata alone so long. The girl needed a lot of emotional support, given how she had none of it at home, and he had been the one to promise that he would protect the delicate child. He would have sighed if he could have but all his physical concentration was focused on keeping up with the blond haired superwoman cutting a swath through trees, underbrush, and paved road alike. If nothing else, not having to train the woman for a while would mean less broken bones. He couldn't remember a single day in the last six or seven weeks where he hadn't had a fracture of some kind. Thank Merlin he had learned some basic healing at Hogwarts to help him along, not to mention Shizune's lessons.

"Harry-kun, come on," Shizune fell back to run alongside him, making him realize that he had been lagging. They jumped branches in tandem, bounding through trees like overgrown squirrels on amphetamines.

There was another reason that Harry was looking forward to returning to Konoha. He was hoping he could find someone skilled enough to tattoo the seal he had created to nullify the Root seal on his tongue. Normal brush work would have been possible anywhere else on his body, but he needed different tools to work on his tongue.

"WHO GOES THERE!" a voice thundered ahead of them. Harry saw Tsunade change direction to leap from the cover of trees on to the open road they had been running parallel to.

"Little Gai-chan, is that you?" Tsunade's voice came through, prompting Shizune and Harry to join her on the path. Harry's face broke in a fond smile at the sight of Mito Gai standing proud with his arms crossed in the path.

"Tsunade-hime?" Gai exclaimed, his bushy brows rising. "What a wondrous day it is, my youthful students, to meet the legendary princess Tsunade and her most youthful companions!"

Tsunade was covering her ears in pain from the man's shouting but there was a grin on her face. "Ne, Gai-chan, lower the volume. Is that you genin team behind you?"

Harry noted a boy he remembered as last year's rookie of the year of the Hyuuga clan. He stood apart with an aloof expression, but then again most Hyuuga seemed that way, maybe he was just shy like Hinata. Another boy clad in green spandex like Gai, seemed just a miniature clone of the man, and the last a girl with her hair up in two buns was watching Tsunade with a starry eyed expression. Before Gai could say anything she ran around her sensei and came to bounce on her toes in excitement in front of Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, you're the strongest kunoichi in the world!"

"Err...yes," Tsunade said, fixing the girl with a suspicious look. "Are you alright?"

The girl squealed in delight. "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Tsunade-sama just asked me if I am alright! _Oh my god! I am talking with Tsunade-sama!"_

"Gai-chan," Tsunade said with an eye roll. "Should I tranquilize your brat?"

"Oh my god! _Tsunade-sama_ is going to tranquilize _me_! I want to be just like you when I grow up!" the girl bounced, making the long weapon strapped to her back wave dangerously.

"Sure, sure, kid...um, why don't you go bother Harry back there, he's my apprentice." Tsunade gave the girl a strained smile, clearly uncomfortable with the hero worship.

"Princess Tsunade, this is Tenten, Neji Hyuuga, and Rock Lee...and can you please stall calling me Gai-_chan_, I'm a grown man," Gai added in a quieter voice, making Tsunade chuckle.

Harry would have loved to continue listening to Tsunade and Gai talk, but he was assaulted by Tsunade's fan, Tenten. The girl appeared in front of him with a speed that made Harry think she had teleported. The girl had grabbed his hands already and was continuing to bounce. She began to babble, "You're travelling with Tsunade-sama? That's so lucky, did she teach you anything? I bet she taught you loads. Hey, you're pretty cute, but you'd have to be to travel with Tsunade-sama. Hey, do you know if she's looking for an apprentice? I'd be an awesome apprentice, you'll talk to her for me, won't you?"

Shizune chuckled happily at Harry's gob smacked look and the way the little twelve year old girl was manhandling him. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder to calm her down. "Tenten-san, I am sure Harry-kun can tell you a lot, after all, he's Tsunade-sensei's apprentice, just like me."

The girl's eyes widened like dinner plates and then she shot them looks of both awe and jealousy. "You're _both_ her apprentices? I bet you're strong. I want to be just like Tsunade-sama, do you think she could use a third? I'll do anything. So? So? What's it like learning from her, Harry-kun?" the girl had blown right past being politely formal with Harry and speaking to him like a childhood friend. Harry wondered if he had been in her section of their class last year, if she and Naruto could have been friends. Unfortunately, he hadn't been in the section as her and her team.

Shizune came to his rescue, "Tenten-san, you will have to let go of Harry's hands. He will answer you but he needs to write - he can't talk."

Tenten lost her exuberance and she let go of Harry's hands with a blush, muttering an apology. The look of pity colored her eyes, but Harry didn't want her to feel bad for him, so he smiled widely at her, and wrote out a message: It's nice to meet you Tenten-chan, don't look so sad, it's great not being able to talk, no one can tell what jutsu I am going to cast this way.

And just like that Harry had flipped the switch back on the girl to excitement. "Really? That's exciting. Come I'll introduce you to my team."

A thunderclap interrupted her plans followed by the ground trembling. Harry, Shizune, and Tenten looked on in shock, finding Gai's fist extended and caught in Tsunade's hand. It looked like Gai had tried to punch the woman with full force.

"Forgive me, Tsunade-hime, if you really are her, but these days Konoha has to make double sure no one is disguising themselves as someone we trust," Gai said, his usual manic grin gone, and a serious killer in his place.

Tsunade scoffed. "Do your worst, Gai-chan. Just don't expect me to heal you afterwards."

That was all the invitation he needed, the air around him blurred with his movement. A round house kick, landed near Tsunade's face, but she intercepted it with a block. Before Gai could move, Tsunade grabbed his leg in her powerful hands and smacked him bodily on the ground. The earth shook and erupted at impact, while Tsunade jumped in the air past the dust cloud, her leg raised in the beginning of an axe kick. With a scream of challenge she fell, dropping her kick, causing the earth to quake again and crack.

"Gai-sensei!" one of the genin shouted, but Harry couldn't tell who because dust blocked their view. He knew Tsunade was holding back, but even her restrained hits made rocks shy away from her.

When the dust cleared, Gai could be seen twitching at the bottom of a crater. His genin ran to him to check on him, calling his name. Tsunade dusted off her robes and returned to Shizune and Harry. "What?" she demanded angrily, when she saw Harry's disappointed eyes. Harry just huffed at her and wrote out a note: I thought you were going to hold back.

"I did hold back, brat, so did little Gai. He just wanted to test himself against me, uppity boy," Tsunade grumbled.

Shizune shook her head. "Sensei, Gai-san is wearing a jounin vest. I am sure he's not just a boy anymore."

"Eh." Tsunade shrugged. "Maybe, he _does_hit harder than Harry."

"I don't think it's fair to compare a jounin to Harry, sensei," Shizune deadpanned. "Can I go heal him?"

Tenten who had an ear to them even as she made sure her sensei was alright called back, "Yes, please, I am sorry for Gai-sensei's rudeness, Princess Tsunade. Can you heal him?"

"_His_ rudeness?" Rock Lee blurted. "Have you lost your mind Tenten? She _caught_one of Gai-sensei's punches and turned him into a pancake."

"Hai! Isn't she amazing?" Tenten said.

Tsunade indicated to Shizune to go help Gai and went to sit on the grass by the wayside. She motioned Harry over and pointed to her shoulders. Harry knowing what she wanted got behind her to massage her neck and shoulders. It wasn't that Tsunade was in pain or had overexerted herself necessarily; she just wanted to be spoiled. And like any good and lowly apprentice, it was Harry's job to cater to her whims. Though, he wondered if dealing with Gai's sudden attack had made her pull a muscle or two. After all, Shizune and Harry could only challenge Tsunade so much in their spars. Gai was in a different class altogether.

Hyuuga Neji walked up to them but kept more than arm's length away. Harry watched him hesitate and bow to Tsunade. The woman didn't notice because Harry's ministrations had already lulled her into a nap. Harry pulled one of Tsunade's pony tails, making her curse at him. She frowned at the little Hyuuga bowing to her. "What's up, kid?"

"Tsunade-sama...I do not believe Gai-sensei can continue on our mission after his...discussion with you. If you are returning to Konoha as you said, would you mind if we escorted you to the Hokage so you can explain to him what happened here?" he said, coming out of his bow.

Harry began chuckling and from how Tsunade's shoulder were shaking where he was resting his hands he knew she was laughing too. She said, "Baby Hyuuga, you want to tattle on me to the Hokage and want me to follow you?"

Neji clenched his fist and his pale eyes narrowed, but he continued in a polite tone, "You misunderstand me, Princess Tsunade, our sensei is disabled, and you are the highest ranking Konoha Nin present. According to field regulations you are now our commanding officer. I was merely suggesting our next course of action."

"Damn it!" Tsunade cursed with feeling. "Shizune! You've got three new subordinates. Take care of the brats."

Shizune looked up from where she was healing Gai inside the crater but couldn't see Tsunade. So she shouted in the general direction her master's voice was coming from, "Sensei! I am busy fixing what you broke! Please take responsibility yourself!" She waited for a response, but when she heard nothing, she went back to bandaging Gai.

After a few moments the Hyuuga boy slid down the wall of the crater and handed her a note in Harry's writing: The lazy as a slug princess has gone to sleep. I think she's pretending, but who knows. You'll have to take command, Shizune-nee-chan.

The brunette sighed and crumpled the note before giving out orders.

(scene break)

Harry was wondering if it was alright to leave Tsunade and Gai together and continue on with the mission Gai's team had been given. But seeing as Shizune didn't feel like facing the Hokage to explain why a mission he had assigned had failed because of her belligerent sensei, he was accompanying 'Team Gai' with Shizune as jounin sensei. Tenten couldn't be happier, Rock Lee any sadder, only Hyuuga Neji could be more stuck up. Perhaps it was because Harry couldn't say much of anything; the Hyuuga boy had gravitated towards him and walked in formation next to him. Tenten walked next to Shizune, peppering her with questions about Tsunade, while Rock Lee, morosely brought up the rear.

Not long after leaving Gai and Tsunade, they entered the small farming village which had hired the shinobi. Their complaint had been strange, apparently the corpses of their dead were 'waking up' and walking around. They had burned the ones who had 'woken up' but every time someone died, they were afraid that the person would become the walking dead. Neji had made a disparaging comment about ignorant yokels, and while Harry didn't like the boy's tone, he had to think that the problem was unlikely 'walking dead.' If Fire Country had an inferi problem, Harry was sure the Hokage wouldn't be sending a bunch of genin out to do something about it.

Straw thatched roofs met his eyes, as they walked into the village. The people looked skittish, and watched them with worried expressions. An older woman, with graying hair caught sight of them, and with a cry ran toward them. "Finally! Did you crawl all the way here? How long did you think we could live with evil spirits?"

Before Shizune could begin to apologize or explain, Harry raised a hand. Quickly he jotted a message on a note and handed it to the caustic woman. She looked at it as if he had handed her a dirty rag. The woman scowled at him, "I can't read!"

Neji took the note back from the woman and glanced at it. Harry watched him twitch and wondered for a second if the boy would also throw away the message. He was surprised when Neji read out the note in a perfectly no nonsense tone, "Forgive us, grandmother, we were attacked by a blond haired drunk forest ogre on our way. Please show us the evil spirits, so we can exorcise them for you."

There were cries of dismay around them at the news of the ogre. "Is it still out there, will it eat our children?"

Harry passed another note to Neji, which the boy read out dutifully, "The ogre only drinks alcohol, your children are safe, your Sake is not. We banished the ogre."

Harry smiled, Neji scowled, Lee was confused, Tenten was scandalized that Harry had called her hero a drunken ogre, Shizune just rolled her eyes. Neji took the initiative to encourage the old woman to take them to the corpses. The news of the ogre seemed to have broken the old woman's anger, and with surprising speed she led them to a relatively big building which served as their storage house.

The villagers had followed in their wake, making a mob of eager yet afraid gossipers. Everyone wanted to see the shinobi work. The woman took out a heavy key from her waistcoat pocket and put it in an equally heavy lock on the storage house door. Neji halted her hand and motioned her to step back.

"Neji-kun?" Shizune prompted, noticing that Neji's Byakugan ability was activated.

"Captain Shizune...two women and one man in the building with dead chakra networks. But they are walking around," Neji said in a horrified whisper. Harry just cocked a brow in mild surprise, but the rest of his team was shocked.

"Are you certain, Neji-kun?" Shizune asked.

"Yes, Captain, they are dead but...not," he said.

Tenten moved forward to peer through the cracks in the boards that made the walls of the storage house. "They are just shuffling about...did they hurt anyone?" she asked looking over at the old woman. The woman had apparently lost her courage and gone to join the rest of the villagers keeping a healthy but interested distance.

"They just walk around...making horrible noises," she said. "Fire stops them...but whenever someone next dies, it happens again."

Harry watched the faces of his team and knew they had never seen or heard of anything like this before. All of them were there thinking it was some sort of a prank, which a few trainee ninjas could clear up. Faced with the truth they were lost.

But Harry was a wizard, and the weird was his business. So he unlocked the door and entered the storage house quickly, before they could pull him back. The whole building was just one large room, with several high shelves, there were lamps interspersed on posts keeping the roof aloft, but none of them were lit. The little light that made through from the outside cast everything in eerie gray. Three shapes stood or sat in the far end, but began moving as soon as Harry entered.

Harry's heartbeat quickened at the sounds and the shuffling steps, but when their faces didn't look the same as the pale ones of inferi, he calmed himself. He was vaguely aware that his team had entered behind him but he was totally focused on the sensation of magic coming from the three bodies making their way over to him. Humming curiously to himself, Harry raised a hand and spelled 'Finite Incantatem' in his mind. The man walking in the center of the group of dead people went rigid and fell. But as he did, lights burst from under his skin and shot toward Harry, buzzing angrily.

The villagers shouted in terror, "It's the evil spirits!"

He raised his hand again and this time cast 'Arresto Momentum!' The pale lights froze in the air, and a moment later senbon and kunai shot by the ninja behind him pierced some of the lights. Harry heard tiny screams from the lights and motioned angrily for Tenten and Neji to stop. He walked to the lights and when he got closer saw that they were tiny creatures with dragonfly wings, chalky humanoid faces and limbs, with little tufts of blacks leaves for hair. All in all, not one could have been bigger than his finger tip.

Their small black eyes looked intelligent to Harry, the way they warily flicked from his companions to him. Harry wondered if they would understand speech like many creatures did in his home realm. He wrote a message and passed it to Neji. Neji read the note and gave Harry a blank look of disbelief. At Harry's glare, the white eyed boy spoke, "Hello little ones, don't be afraid, we are not here to harm you. Can you tell us what you are doing to the bodies of these dead men?"

A buzzing, chittering noise went up around the pale lit creatures, and then they spoke as one, many tiny voices together loud enough for human ears, "Tall ones destroy our homes, so we take their dead to make ourselves stronger. We will wake their dead ones and fight for our home, green eyed Sage. Will you help us, you are the sage of spirits, you must help us!"

Harry was surprised at the title he had earned from the little creatures, and gave confused looks to the other ninjas. He passed another note to Neji, who asked for him, "What are you, little ones? I will help you, if you stop raising the dead, I will not let you defile their bodies."

"We are Yōsei, Sage of the Spirits. We live in the forests, tend to dying plants and trees, and we can bring dead back to life to fight for us. The tall ones destroy our homes for their food, help us," they said, their voices becoming pained.

Harry raised his hand and canceled the spell holding them in place. In another moment, they had surrounded him, flitting into his air, clinging on to his arms, sitting on his shoulder. He saw as the other two bodies also fell to the ground and more of these fairy like creatures called Yōsei flew out of them. Some slipped into the messenger bag he was carrying, soon, a lot of them flew into it, buzzing excitedly. Their chalk white faces with little smiles blooming as they came out holding something in their hands. Curiously Harry opened the latch on his bag and saw the fairies had found the sugar he was carrying with him. A little sack with sugar cubes was being divided up amongst the fairies. If their tiny squeaks were anything to go by, they loved the stuff.

"Where is your home?" Neji asked, but they didn't respond to him, happily gorging on the sugar. Neji shot Harry an irritated look who penned another note for him, this time Harry noticed that the Yōsei carefully watched Harry write the note: The sage wishes to know where your home is.

"Follow us, follow us!" the fairies said and flitted out the door, making villagers stumble back and fall on their backsides in fear.

Only a little ways away from the main settlement, they came to a patch of woods where a clearing was being created. Freshly cut trees lay on the ground, smothering the underbrush, where the sight of white flowered bushes with leaves so dark green they could be black could be seen between the logs. "Our home, so many dead, we can't take care of the dead, too few of us now," the Yōsei buzzed.

"We have to get rid of the trees and mark off this area then," Shizune said.

"But, captain, we can't help the evil spirits!" Lee, who had been quiet so long, exclaimed. "Look what they did to the loved ones of the villagers who died."

Harry wished he could speak, but he still wrote angrily and passed his note to Shizune, who read it out for him, "The villagers killed the loved ones of the Yōsei as well. We will remove these trees and tell the villagers to care for these bushes. Both the villagers and Yōsei can live together then."

Harry only waited for Shizune to finish and then headed to the first tree. Behind him he could hear the villagers complaining loudly, but Shizune was now browbeating them, by being overly polite and unyielding. He put his hands on the first tree, spelling it to become feather light.

"Harry-kun! It's too heavy...?" Tenten began but trailed off when she saw the short boy hoist a tree easily twenty times his weight off the flower bushes. She ran ahead to hold one end of the tree, but got the feeling she was carrying none of the weight, because she felt no strain on herself.

She watched in awe as Lee and Neji thinking the trees were obviously not heavy, tried the same thing and failed, despite grunting in effort and pushing and pulling to their best. Harry walked past their panting forms and picked up yet another tree, bringing it to the clearing to set down. Tenten continued to 'help' him, regardless of how unneeded the gesture was. The Yōsei seemed to appreciate her though, as they came to nest in her hair as well. Sadly, the girl wasn't nearly as comfortable with them as Harry, and kept thinking that these 'bugs' had been inside dead bodies just ten minutes before.

"Ano, Harry-kun, are you related to Tsunade-sama? I ask because I heard she's physically very strong," Tenten asked but only got a cheeky wink from Harry in response, which was no answer at all.

"IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO ME, I WILL HAVE THE SAGE PUT A CURSE ON YOU!" Shizune screamed suddenly.

Harry jumped in surprise and whirled to see the villagers prostrating themselves in front of an extremely upset Shizune, begging her for forgiveness and promising to offer sugar cubes to the Yōsei in repentance. He grinned and went back to work, writing notes to guide the other kids to help him put up sign posts.

Little did he know that this small incident was the birth of his legend and Konoha's dubious distinction as the only village with exorcist ninjas.

(scene break)

Harry had already said a teary farewell to Shizune and now stood awkwardly with Tsunade. Team Gai clustered further down the path leading to Konoha to give Harry and Tsunade some privacy. While they had been away, Tsunade had charged Gai to take Harry back with him and introduce him to the Hokage as her apprentice. The man, having felt Tsunade's power, could no longer deny he was dealing with the real Sannin and was honored to take on a mission for her.

Tsunade put a hand on his shoulder, making Harry think that he had gotten used to being beside the woman all the time, and feeling her warmth. He hadn't noticed that he had become attached, even though he had tried not to. Flashes of all the times Tsunade had walked with him tucked to her side to keep him from 'straying' or resting her hand on his shoulder to guide him flew across his eyes. Despite himself, he smiled affectionately at the beautiful woman whose features had softened at the moment of their farewell. Hopefully, only a temporary goodbye, Harry thought to himself.

"Brat, go with Gai and keep your head down. Stay close to Sarutobi-sensei. I am going to find my old teammate who's a genius with seals and can help me with your other issue with old bastards," she said referring to Danzo.

Harry was surprised; this was the first time she explained exactly why she was leaving him. He'd always thought she had some of her own affairs to handle and was tired of his company. 'You don't have to,' he wrote out a note to her.

Tsunade snorted in amusement and brushed her hand over the Yin Seal on Harry forehead that he had begun to form. "What's family for?" she said, with a smile.

Harry's heart skipped a beat at that and knew if he didn't break the sappy moment soon, he'd do something stupid like cry or kiss her. So he wrote down for her: Knew I was too adorable to resist, Tsun-tsun-chan.

Tsunade pinched his cheeks suddenly. "Oooh, you are so cute when you're trying to be funny, Harry-_chan_," she cooed mockingly with a wicked smile, then whispered so only he could hear her, "Say that out loud and I will pinch your cheeks again."

Harry's eyes were tearing up from the stinging pain, so he nodded quickly, grumbling inside about violent women. Tsunade brushed his hair, messing it up, as a parting shot. Harry watched the backs of the two women he had come to know and care for disappear slowly down the path. He looked to the side where one of the ghosts in Snape's service stood and nodded imperceptibly to. The ghost would follow the two women and report back to him immediately if something happened to them.

Finally he turned to Gai and his students, getting excited again about seeing the Hokage and the little kids in his class.

(scene break)

Kotetsu Hagane was having a bad day, in fact, he had been having a few bad weeks, but if he _really_ started to count, he had been having a few bad months. Ever since Umino Iruka had disappeared, and while he was concerned about his fellow chunnin's wellbeing, he was ten times more concerned with when that man would get back and take back his position as a teacher at the Academy.

Kotetsu had hated his time at the Academy; all the tests, assignments, deadlines were so irritating. And now he had to teach a bunch of brats, make them do things on time, even when he himself hated doing any work. He knew everyone knew that, and the only reason he could think that he had been assigned this mission was because the Hokage figured Iruka to be such a brilliant teacher that even Kotetsu's laziness wouldn't ruin the student's learning till the super teacher got back.

Grumbling aside, there was something to be said for having a battalion of little brats who wanted to impress him. Lunch was delivered to his office, homemade by one of the girls' mothers for Kotetsu-_sensei_; next test Kotetsu had passed the lagging girl with an 'A.' His weapons were sharpened and maintained by other brats who he was 'teaching' proper maintenance. Yup, in some ways, life was pretty good. If only the damn girls of his class could settle down and stop mooning over that brooding stick-in-the-mud Uchiha Sasuke. Hell, he'd even take Sasuke not glaring at him as if the Uchiha brat knew Kotetsu didn't want to be there and was putting minimum effort to get by.

Suddenly, Kotetsu's day got much worse: Gai and one of his genin showed up with a boy. Dark hair over clear green eyes, delicate features, dressed like some lordling in a kimono and hakama. The green of the kimono highlighting his eyes; Kotetsu groaned inside, he prayed to all holy that the girls of his class wouldn't catch sight of the boy. If they performed a group squeal one more time that day, he was going to have to start disciplining them with his swords.

Of course Kotetsu was hoping against hope, because Gai's booming voice greeting the 'youthful Kotetsu' could not be ignored. And neither could be the presence of the others as they came to stand in front of the classroom. "Gai-san," Kotetsu greeted tiredly. "I'm not feeling the spring times of youth today, so can you get on with it?"

"Perhaps you should train with me to find your inner youth, Kotetsu-kun," Gai said with a mad gleam in his eyes.

Kotetsu choked on the senbon he had been playing with in his mouth. Gai might be oblivious but he always picked up when someone was being sarcastic about his personal credo. Only Hatake Kakashi was safe doing that, but then again, that man was a special kind of weird in his own right. "Nah, that's alright, I'm feeling bouncy already. So what's up?"

Gai simply handed a scroll with the Hokage's seal on it to Kotetsu and with a salute body flickered out of sight. The girl who had come in with him apparently took this as a cue.

Tenten stood with her feet shoulder width apart and her arms crossed in an attempt to look imposing. Being slightly tall for her age and having her hitiate strapped to her head certainly helped. "Alright, brats, this is Harry, he is the Legendary Sannin Tsunade's apprentice. Yes, _that_ Tsunade. Every kunoichi worth anything knows who I am talking about and if you dare tell me you don't I will cut you down right here." With this Tenten pulled the naginata strapped to her back, spinning it with a flourish and slamming its end into the floor, making the blade slice through the wood. "Second, he can't speak, he will write you notes when he wants to answer you. If any of you pick on him for this, I will dismember you. Third, take care of him because I have missions when he's in school, and I want to make sure I can look Tsunade-sama in the face when she comes back and say I did everything to make sure he was taken care of. If you don't do this I will-"

"Dismember them," Kotetsu finished for her with a wide grin. "How would you like to teach, my murder-happy kunoichi?"

"My name is Tenten, Kotetsu-san, and I am sorry, but I am not yet as qualified and wise as you." She bowed respectfully to the chunnin.

"Excuse me!" a girl called out to Tenten. "Does Harry-kun have a girlfriend?"

Tenten frowned. "He's a kid, why would he have a girlfriend? We're all kids, why would any of us have boyfriends or girlfriends?" she asked.

Kotetsu pointed at her in excitement. "That's it! Right there, a true kunoichi! Thank you!"

"Umm, is that a yes or a no, Tenten-san?" another girl asked.

Harry noted with rising apprehension how the little girls were looking at him, and he prayed that Tenten had the brains to answer the question correctly. Sadly, that was not the case.

"That's a no, you twits," Tenten snapped. "Okay, I am off. I'll pick you up after class for dinner, Harry-kun." She waved and walked out of the class.

There was a moment of silence in the wake of both Gai and Tenten's loud presence. Remembering some courtesy lessons from Mito-dono, Harry bowed to the class and then straightened to write flaming letters in the air: Please take care of me.

There was a collective squeal of 'cute' and Harry was being pulled in several directions, almost ending up in the laps of several kids before being squeezed between a gaggle of girls. He sighed deeply when Kotetsu shot him a glare. So much for keeping his head down like Tsunade had wanted. He was more than a little disappointed that Hinata wasn't one of the girls that he was near, and secondly Sakura still seemed to hate him. Or maybe that had to do with her screaming at the other girls for flipping from the 'Sasuke-kun fan club' at the drop of a hat. Obviously their hearts were shallow, she lashed out. Naruto's little crush took another hard blow.

(scene break)

Kotetsu was about to lose his mind. The girls, the kunoichi wannabe girls, had the gall to yell at him for _making_ 'sweet Harry-kun' take part in 'brutal' taijutsu spars. Seeing as Harry's turn hadn't even come up yet, this was a little much. Not to mention that the Hokage's orders were to test the boy thoroughly and get back to him with the results. "Damn it, you little she devils, Tsunade-hime trained him, I think he can take a hit."

"You're such a brute, sensei!" the screamed back at him.

"That's it, Uchiha, get up here and fight Harry. Maybe seeing their two idols roughing each other up will put them in a fan girl stupor," Kotetsu ordered.

Harry sighed for the umpteenth time that day. He hadn't had a moment to interact with Shino, Shika, or Hinata, although he was happy to see they were fine. Hinata seemed as reserved as always but sat between the two boys and talked with them every now and them, so their friendship was going strong. Harry did miss the kids and he was desperate to talk to Hinata about her homelife. Instead he had become the object of interest of all those bratty girls that had hated him when he had blond hair and blue eyes and answered to the name of Naruto. Just for that he wasn't ever going to give them a chance, as if a ten or eleven year old boy was interested in romance, he certainly wasn't. He ignored memories of himself going gaga over Sakura.

He stood on the training grounds with his class mates sitting in rows on the sides of the sparring area. He had moved to take his place opposite Sasuke immediately. If nothing else it got him away from clinging fingers. But instead of fighting he had to stand there and hear himself get heckled by the Sasuke supporters, which was nothing new as Naruto always had to suffer through that, but this time Sasuke had to deal with Harry's supporters.

"No, Sasuke-kun, you can't hurt Harry-kun, you're not a brute like Kotetsu-sensei!"

"Please, Sasuke-kun, how can you hit someone that cute?"

"Doesn't he just melt your heart, Sasuke-kun? Please be gentle!"

"You're stronger, Sasuke-kun, so be careful with him!"

Harry was amused to watch Sasuke shoot off toward him then come to a halt every time someone called out to him to be gentle. After the fifth time, Sasuke looked to Kotetsu helplessly, the chunnin just glared at the Uchiha boy. Harry did feel somewhat bemused by the hesitance on Sasuke's face, apparently even to him, Harry looked harmless. Maybe the boy really would feel like a monster for hitting him, Harry chuckled inside.

To help matters along, Harry fell into stance, using the traditional academy taught taijutsu. Sasuke saw him and mirrored him, getting serious and blanking out the audience. An old memory of Sasuke humiliating him came to Harry. The boy had knocked him down in a second, in just one punch. For Naruto, for the little boy in him who had tried so hard for acknowledgment and been denied so badly, Harry resolved to do the same.

Kotetsu shouted 'begin' when he saw the boys were finally ready to fight, despite the pleas and heckling of the girls. His hand had just dropped to his side after signaling the start of the match, when with a loud crack Uchiha Sasuke was laying on the ground. The boy, Harry, was straddling the taller Uchiha's chest, one hand choking his throat, and the other cocked back in a fist.

He watched the gentle and delicate looking boy punch, the movement too fast for any of his students to follow. The students screamed but Kotetsu had seen the boy aim for the ground next to Sasuke's face. The packed earth of the training ground broke under Harry's fist, the thrown up soil covered Uchiha's face. The taller boy was looking up at the new kid with wide shocked eyes, his breath quick from adrenaline and fear.

Kotetsu smiled, in a few seconds, Tsunade-hime's boy had proven that he was both faster and stronger than the top academy student, and not to mention that he had been holding back: The destroyed ground could easily have been Sasuke's destroyed face.

And best of all, the entire class was silent. Yes, Kotetsu had just found his new best friend. He wondered if he liked syrup and swords.

(chapter break)

A.N. A longer than usual chapter for you guys and gals. I just wanted to get through a few things to set up the next phase of the story. Hope you liked it. I focused on Harry in this chapter almost totally, to make up for last chapter, where you saw him through mostly everyone else's eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

_A.N. _I wanted to show a little bit of what was happening in Konoha while Harry was with Tsunade. Since I didn't show that at all in the last chapter. So first part of this chapter is what was going on there, and then we come back to the timeline where Harry has just returned to Konoha. Thanks.

**14.**

_While Harry was travelling with Tsunade, weeks before his return:_

Severus Snape stood in a cellar in the abandoned manor of the Hatake clan. The walls, ceiling, and floor were covered in seals designed to destroy and negate all spying techniques. His lip curled in self-satisfaction, too bad for them that they hadn't thought of condemned souls summoned from Hell.

The forms of the two councilors Koharu and Homura were kneeling on the floor with bags over their faces and their hands tied. The young man, Hatake Kakashi, who he had been following for some time, stood behind them with a naked blade. Snape was certain that any suspicious movement from the councilors would earn them the kunai in Hatake's hands. Snape willed him to do it, to rid him of two of Harry's enemies.

Soon enough others entered the room: The Hokage, Nara Shikaku, Morino Ibiki, Yamaka Inoichi, and the ANBU, Cat.

"Kakashi, after Cat lead me here we were both trapped in Shikaku's shadow and mind walked by Inoichi. Care to explain why these gentlemen followed your orders to use an interrogation technique on _your Hokage_?" Sarutobi was looking murderous, Snape was pleased to note. Perhaps the man would be pushed to take drastic measures and Snape would be spared planning the assassinations of three people.

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi gave a short bow, departing from his usual casual demeanor, "we needed to make sure you were you, same with Cat and Ibiki. You see, we have either been betrayed again or spied on successfully in your office. I asked them to bring you here and everyone close to the investigation."

The Hokage made no comment, simply looking thunderous at the thought of a leak in their group. "Go on," he finally said.

Kakashi motioned for Cat to take his place behind the two councilors, so he was free to pay attention to the Hokage. A few utilitarian chairs in the room served to sit the newly arrived ninja before Kakashi began, "I have performed a jutsu to make sure the councilors can't hear us. So I will speak openly. Cat followed Koharu and Homura to Danzo's estate. Our recon teams had reported that Danzo hadn't left his home since the village went into lock down. We were wrong; there was a decoy in his home, pretending to be him. Koharu and Homura discovered this quickly, but the decoy tried to kill them, Cat interfered to protect them and the decoy was killed instead. She reported back to me, and considering the pressure you had put on the councilors I felt they were a flight risk like Danzo. I brought them here to my...father's old home; we have this secret room as you can see which might be more secure than your office."

Ibiki hummed in agreement. "There are too many parties trying to spy on the Hokage's office all the time, it wouldn't surprise me if a device or a jutsu was missed by us. Of course, the other possibility is that one of us fed Danzo the information, so he could escape before we closed the noose around his neck."

The blond haired man, Inoichi Yamanaka, shook his head. He looked them all in the eyes. "No, that's not the case. I have mind walked all present, none of you are either imposters like the Danzo decoy or have betrayed the Hokage."

"That leaves only you as a suspect, Inoichi," Shikaku said, showing the discomfort of that thought on his face. "Not that I believe you are, but you're the only one who hasn't been mind-walked."

Kakashi gave them his closed eye smile, "Not to worry, I had my nindogs smell him, it really is Inoichi-san, and also they have been keeping their eyes on him since this whole thing started. Inoichi hasn't been in touch with Danzo or the councilors since the lock-down."

The blond man frowned. "You've been spying on me for that long? Why? I wasn't even part of the investigation then."

Kakashi shrugged. "I had a feeling we would need you at some stage, Inoichi-san, so I made sure you could be trusted."

"Enough." The Hokage raised a hand to stop their discussion. "I am satisfied the group here did not betray me or the village. It is not beyond Danzo to hoodwink all our sweeps to plant some sort of listening device or jutsu in my office. The question is where he has gone. Kakashi, I want you to make contact with Jiraiya, he is already on the case trying to find out Danzo's resources outside the village and possible allies who would've betrayed him to take Naruto. If anyone can pin down Danzo, it's him."

Morino Ibiki shifted in his seat to bring attention to himself. "That's good, Hokage-sama. I wished to speak to Jiraiya-sama myself. The seal we found on Root operatives is beyond me and Kakashi's expertise. Perhaps Kakashi can show Jiraiya-sama the seal, to get his opinion. We need to get around it to learn more."

"No, I don't want Jiraiya distracted. I doubt the seal affects the operatives deeply enough that Inoichi couldn't rip the knowledge we need from them," The Hokage said, and then turned to the hard looking blond. "Inoichi, effective immediately you are reinstated to ANBU T&I. I cannot ask anyone other than you from your clan to do this, none of them are as proficient as you, and none of them have my confidence as you do."

The blond man bowed where he was sitting in acceptance. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"What about the councilors?" Shikaku brought up. "We already know they worked around you, Hokage-sama, but we don't know exactly how. We need to know how deeply they were involved. Obviously, they were part of Uzumaki's abduction..."

The Hokage nodded and sighed deeply. "Inoichi...interrogate them. Know this that they have served Konoha for decades and know its darkest secrets. No matter what you learn, you cannot speak of it to anyone but me."

"Lord Hokage," Inoichi said in a soft voice, recognizing the pain it caused his superior to order his past teammates to be interrogated. "Politically speaking, we are in a bad situation. With Danzo on the run, if we have the councilors suddenly disappear, the village will be perceived as weak. The councilors are venerated as much as you are, to lose them would be seen as a loss of your power."

Shikaku cursed. "He's right. We shouldn't think that other villages won't learn that our Jinchuriki has been abducted or that our councilors are missing or-" he stopped when he found the Hokage's hand on his arm.

They all watched the Hokage rise from his chair as if he was carrying a heavy burden. He went to stand in front of the kneeling forms of Koharu and Homura and began forming hand seals. Snape watched this raptly, trying to memorize it for Harry's use. In a sudden movement, the Hokage slapped his palms on the councilors' covered heads. A light briefly flickered then disappeared, making the two jerk back.

The Hokage stepped back and intoned, "I have placed a forbidden seal on them. If they leave the village walls...they will be vaporized. After their interrogation, they will resume such duties that we can trust them with. I have heard your advice; we cannot afford to seem weak, for in some ways we are truly weakened. We have taken losses apprehending Root, the number of ninja we can trust has fallen, as much as I hate to say this, Naruto's status as a Jinchuriki was an important counterweight which we have lost."

There was a long silence which was awkwardly broken by Morino Ibiki. "Hokage-sama, we have found some very young Root operatives, some just Academy age. I think with Inoichi-senpai's help, we can deprogram them...we can gain back some of our losses."

The Hokage shot him a smile. "Thank you for the good news, Ibiki. I'd like to give them a chance."

Shikaku stood from his seat as well and as if from silent agreement all others did as well. The jounin commander addressed them, "Hokage-sama, we have been focused inward, but some of the reports coming in from our borders show Lightning village is mobilizing. I would like your permission to take Asuma under my command since he is still head of village security to plan for invasions."

"Ma, they're always after bloodlines and biju," Kakashi noted with a slouch. "If anyone is going to go hunting for Naruto brazenly through our country, it'll be those Lightning bastards."

Cat shifted from her position behind the councilors and bowed to the Hokage. "Sir, Lightning might take this chance to try to kidnap a Hyuuga again. I'm close to the clan heir, I'd like your permission to tell her to be on guard."

"Cat-san," Shikaku said with a light chuckle. "I didn't say Lightning was definitely attacking us, just that it's the best opportunity for them to."

They couldn't see cat's face but the stiffening of her shoulders and slow movement of her head to face Shikaku made them all think she was wearing an arch look on her face. She said, "Shikaku-san, you wouldn't have brought this up if it wasn't more than just a possibility in your mind. I need to forewarn my..." she trailed off, unable to find the word.

Ibiki laughed, "Your little kittens are the words you're looking for."

"Ibiki-senpai, do shut up or should I tell them what my kittens did to you?" Cat shot back. At this the Hokage and Shikaku started chuckling as if they were in the know.

"Peace, children," the Hokage said in mock admonishment. "You're both authorized to take actions you deem fit, Shikaku, Cat. Now, I must get back to the Tower before the other ANBU I gave the slip start fainting from worry."

"That's right, get out of my house the rest of you." Kakashi shooed his fellow Shinobi.

When the room was empty, Snape spoke, "Can you see me, ghost?"

An older white haired man who could have been a relative of Kakashi looked up from the corner of the room he was slumped against. Dull eyes regarded Snape and spoke in a hushed voice, "You can see me?"

"I can and whose wretched ghost are you?" Snape demanded.

The man scoffed, "I didn't think so many years had gone by that no one would recognize me. They used to call me The White Fang."

Snape smirked, having found a new recruit in the dead of Konoha. "Tell me, White Fang, do you want a purpose again?"

"I only want to move on or speak to my son," the man responded despondently.

"My master can give you both those things if you serve him for a time, come with me," Snape whirled and walked through the closed door, with the certainty built from having dealt with desperate men that the White Fang would follow.

(scene break)

Morino Ibiki stood with Cat looking at the live feed of one of his cells. The cell, unlike others, was bereft of torture and interrogation tools. A table and a few chairs, even a small window to let the outside air in constituted the room. Their subject was a young boy, somewhere in the range of pre to early teens, pale as a sheet of paper and emotionally dead.

"Damn Danzo for whatever he did to the kid," Cat swore.

Ibiki sighed, "Systematic emotional desensitization training...he was made to kill another Root agent he thought of as a brother. He didn't talk about it but Inoichi-senpai was able to extract the information." Cat cursed at hearing that and Ibiki continued, "The Hokage would like to rehabilitate the boy as we are trying with other Root members not completely brainwashed into dying loyalty for Danzo."

"So your new job is to fix people not break them down?" Cat asked, amusement coloring her voice. "What about the other kids we found, they get the chance to be rehabilitated too?"

Ibiki nodded and handed a scroll to Cat. "Congratulations, the Kick-ass Kitty-chan brigade has been assigned a mission."

"What?" Cat asked in surprise, her expression hidden behind her perpetual mask. "I know Anko gets them to do stuff to annoy other jounin, are you joining in the fun now too?" She unfurled the scroll and stared at it in shock. "This is a joke."

"No," Ibiki snorted. "I wish it was, but it does make sense. A lot of us have been indulging your brigade and giving them mock missions to mess with people, it's not surprising they have gotten good. This is a perfect solution for what we need now."

"But the _Hokage_himself is assigning this mission! This is not just a joke we play on each other anymore, Ibiki-senpai!" Cat protested feeling her protective instincts for the kids come to the forefront.

"Easy, Cat, it's a simple recon mission. What did you expect? That we will send an undercover chunnin to the Academy? The ANBU juniors provide us with just what we need without extending our already stretched resources," Ibiki explained.

Cat shook her head and stuffed the scroll in her combat gear. "Yes, _today_it is a recon mission to watch over child assassins, what will it be tomorrow? Those kids are talented but they are still kids."

Ibiki laughed mirthlessly and put a comforting hand on Cat's shoulder. "Cat, we were all child assassins once, so are those cute little ANBU juniors. It's good to see you get so emotionally invested in anything other than work, but don't let that blind you from reality." Switching his friendly tone to one of happy anticipation he informed, "Tiger, Tabby, and Panther of ANBU Juniors will be providing an important service before they are even genin: They will watch the Root kids in the Academy and if someone gets out of hand they will disable them. Get to training them or I will, since they have been informally and very much off-the-books attached to my division."

Cat shuddered at the thought of Ibiki being responsible for teaching Academy students anything. Although, in the last few week of working closely with the man, she had found more depths to him than the scary exterior would suggest. She never would have expected him to be a friend and a concerned 'senpai' figure.

"Fine...Wish I could find Danzo and strangle him," Cat said, truly hoping for a release for her frustrations.

"On a different note, a few friends and I are getting together for dinner tonight, same place as last time," Ibiki said casually.

Cat straightened a little at the code phrase to meet at the Hatake manor's secret room. "Hmm, I'm pretty busy tonight, but I'll try to make it," she said.

(scene break)

_Now we return to the current time, Harry has returned to Konoha:_

Harry's clone dispelled itself after dinner with Tenten, sending memories of their first day at the Academy back to the original. Harry was sitting deep in the Forest of Death, ostensibly a training area but typically left alone by humans. The truly gigantic trees teemed with life but Harry had found a place amongst them for his own. A tree hollow in a particularly majestic specimen served as Harry's workroom. The hollow was set in the tree at least a hundred feet off the ground, safe from creatures that prowled below, and spells laced the entrance to keep anything else away. The hollow itself was big enough that Harry imagined he could fit the Dursley's house in it easily.

Now that he was away from Tsunade and Shizune's watchful eyes, Harry was ready to attempt the most dangerous endeavor he could think of. He was going to seek out the Demon Fox. Since the Root attack the Fox's chakra had become more and more prevalent in his body and his mind, if the nightmares and dark visions he received were anything to go by. Occlumency, despite Snape's tutoring, was not a permanent solution, Harry had found. Weeks spent in meditation and mental battle against the foreign presence while in Tsunade's care had proven that he needed something new to try.

So he was going to give in to the Demon and let him pull where it had been trying to for the last two months. Unfortunately the clone's memories informed him that he was expected at the Hokage Tower in half an hour. Not knowing how long the fight against the fox would take, he decided to leave his secret meditation tree. _Perhaps it would be best to summon some clones to watch over me when I try this_, he mused.

That led him to thoughts of Alpha, Zulu, and the Scorpion squad. He had relied on them overmuch recently. Alpha was the first clone he had put so much of his own identity in, and it was just bizarre experiencing the clone's memories of being disappointed in his originator's 'brooding.' Most of the Scorpion squad was designed to absorb knowledge, so their emotions and personal memories did not affect him, except the clone he had set as their leader, _he_had interesting training ideas that Harry would put in practice. Lastly, Zulu...he finally had to dispel the girl when she had been alive too long. There was a risk that the more experiences she accumulated, the harder it would be for Harry to absorb her memories back into himself without doing damage to his brain.

A little ache in his heart at the thought of her reminded him uncomfortably that he _missed _her. The thought that he could miss a clone of himself was weird and it revealed difficult truths about himself.

He had meditated on his memories, reminding himself of the time Naruto had created the 'sexy no jutsu.' While Naruto told anyone who asked that he had created the technique to fight perverts, Harry knew the actual truth. He had seen around the village how people were nice to good looking girls; more importantly, he had seen other children with kind older sisters. The sisters were sweet like mothers, playful like friends, and Naruto always felt a painful emptiness when he saw them. He wished for one - so he made himself one.

She was everything he had wanted in a companion, someone who would smile at him like those other kids' sisters smiled at them. She was strong, so she could protect him; beautiful, so that he knew what it felt like having a pretty girl look at him with fondness; funny, because he wanted a partner in crime; affectionate, so that he knew what it meant. Harry sighed again at his younger self, the boy hadn't simply set out to create the body of a woman; he had set out to create a mother, a sister, a best friend rolled into one. He wanted someone to love, and he'd succeeded.

The longer Zulu took care of him, the more Harry became dependant on her, the more he never wanted her to disappear. He knew that she would lose her chakra one day and would return to his soul.

The feelings of loss at that thought had driven him to what he had been doing. He cast his eyes back at the hollow as he stood at its mouth. All across the walls and floors, scrolls of seals and magical notes were spread. They were the sum of his personal project that he had been hiding in storage scrolls while he was with Tsunade, but here, in privacy he meant to take Naruto's dream to the next step; he meant to create Zulu so she and he never had to fear her losing chakra so much she couldn't sustain herself anymore.

It was immoral, maybe, confusing, definitely, and he felt like Dr. Frankenstein; but he had another person inside him, one that Naruto in his childish need and enthusiasm had given a soul, now it was up to Harry to give her a body.

With a smile at his own silliness, Harry left the hollow. _If my other clones only knew what I was up to, I'd never hear the end of it. Scorpion would probably try to make me do push-ups for punishment, Alpha would worry about my sanity and tell me to focus on the Root seal, and Zulu...she'd squeal happily._

(scene break)

Kotetsu had never enjoyed being called to the Hokage office; it always made him vaguely feel like he was in trouble. Given the climate in the village for the last few months of apprehension and tension made him only dread the meeting more.

"You can go in now," the secretary outside the office broke into Kotetsu's thoughts.

With a grunt of acknowledgment the young man entered the office to find it flooded with bright sunlight and clouds of pipe smoke. The play of light and smoke made the Hokage look pretty dramatic, Kotetsu grinned at the thought, as if he needed to be any more scared of the venerable ninja. "Sir," he greeted.

The Hokage looked up from his paperwork and laced his fingers together. "Still enjoying your new assignment?"

"Ah, well, teaching the new generation of ninjas is very rewarding." He grinned.

"You always were a terrible liar and you wonder why I don't give you infiltration missions," the Hokage said with a chuckle.

"I'm not lying!" the reluctant academy teacher protested. "Well, lying much," he added thoughtfully. "Tsunade-hime's boy made my life a lot more fun at the Academy for sure."

"Oh? Tell me about him, I have yet to meet him. I had Gai take him straight to you." The old ninja indicated the chair in front of his desk to invite Kotetsu to sit.

Kotetsu was used to standing in the Hokage's presence; he had never been invited to sit, so he did so awkwardly. "I mostly tested his physical skills today, I wasn't expecting much because he looks delicate, but the kid is definitely Tsunade-sama's student. He used chakra enhanced speed in his fight with Uchiha Sasuke to close the gap faster than the boy could follow and knocked him down. Then displayed Tsunade-sama's famous strength by creating a small crater in the training grounds next to Sasuke's face."

The Hokage frowned in thought. "Did it look like he was comfortable with his use of chakra enhanced speed and strength?"

Kotetsu nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. At the speed he moved, his punch should've done more damage than just giving Sasuke a shiner. So he knows how to moderate his strength."

"Hmmm, you said he showed Tsunade-like strength. Did you note if it was natural or chakra enhanced?"

Kotetsu shifted in the chair, wishing he was standing in his usual 'mission reporting' stance. "I felt a chakra pulse from him when he shot off toward Sasuke and another one when he punched the ground on the kid's side. I don't think it was physical speed or strength, the kid has very little muscle mass. It looks like he's been working out off and on, but nothing like Sasuke or hell, even the Hyuuga girl. Frankly, without his chakra, the kid would be a bare step above a civilian child."

The Hokage raised a brow in curiosity. "Hinata?"

Kotetsu mock shuddered and said, "The girl is possessed, I think. I don't know why Iruka downplayed her skills in his reports on her. The few times I've been able to get her out of that silly jacket of hers to do exercises, I've seen corded muscles. She has been giving Sasuke and Yamaka Ino a lot of trouble in Taijutsu, and that's just using the Academy style. If she was using Jyuuken I have no doubt she would be the top Taijutsu cadet." The young man saw a look of sadness pass over the Hokage. Any other time he wouldn't have questioned it but the casual interview with the man had made him relax. "What's up, Hokage, you don't seem happy about that?"

"Hinata is pushing herself to atone for something. I want you to pay personal attention to her, Kotetsu. Extra lessons, introduction to other disciplines than she's used to, anything you can think of. If grief has given her the will to excel, then so be it." The Hokage's dark eyes glittered in the bright sunlight streaming through the window.

Kotetsu swallowed nervously; he hadn't expected the Hokage to take advantage of the girl's grief. "As you command, Hokage-sama," he answered formally, understanding that this part of the conversation had been an order and not a casual suggestion.

"Coming back to your new student...I am glad to hear about your estimation, because if he is truly using Tsunade's strength enhancement, then I know for certain that he is her apprentice," the Hokage dropped the intensity in his tone.

Kotetsu nodded in understanding. "And it would take time to learn something like that, so he's been with her for a while. He can be trusted. But, why would Tsunade-sama neglect his physical conditioning?"

"My old student likes to wander; my guess is that the boy couldn't get more than intermittent physical training in while travelling. In fact, she asked Mito Gai to make sure the boy was sent to the Academy to cover the basics, so it will be your job to get his conditioning up, now did you test him in anything else?"

Kotetsu nodded. "We also went through the obstacle course. He misjudged his landings and distances a little, almost as if he had come off an illness and didn't have the same strength that he did when he'd performed the activity before. He looked pretty pissed a few times...and uh...he destroyed a rock in his path."

The Hokage snorted, "More evidence that Tsunade has been an influence in his life. I remember her breaking through barriers in the obstacle course, instead of finding ways around them. What about ninjutsu?"

"Hinata beat the obstacle course first, but she injured herself on the razor wire - that scared me, she just pushed through when she got tangled, taking the pain. Anyway, Harry ran up to her when he was through and healed the cuts, so the kid knows medic ninjutsu, I haven't tested him in the regular techniques," Kotetsu reported. "Oh, and he likes my kunai swords."

The Hokage looked sternly at his subordinate. "And why did the boy have an opportunity to discover your swords?"

Kotetsu laughed nervously, "I might've told him that if he knocked down Sasuke every fight, I would teach him how to use them?"

"Kotetsu!" The Hokage growled.

Kotetsu leaped out of his chair and put up warding hands. "I know it's wrong, but it's important for the girls to see their idol isn't all that. I'm doing it for the sake of the future kunoichi of Konoha, sir!"

"Bullshit!" The Hokage cursed, surprising Kotetsu. "You are an instructor now, you have to be more mature than pick on a student who annoys you."

"Hokage-sama, he's such a stuck up prick and he won't work with anyone. He has no respect for his peers, even Yamaka Ino who is second to him in Taijutsu but overall the best cadet isn't worthy of his attention, in his eyes. He _needs_to learn humility," Kotetsu said in a more serious voice, suddenly finding more stable ground for his vendetta against the boy who always glared at him in class.

The Hokage sighed deeply. "You are lucky that your own nefarious purposes coincide with the best interests of the students in your class."

"Nefarious...is such a _strong_word," Kotetsu muttered sullenly.

"Get out, and report back to me on Harry next week. Tsunade sent him here to fill the gaps in his training," The Hokage paused and fixed Kotetsu with an evil smile, "If she finds out you have been slacking..." He left the sentence unfinished.

Kotetsu paled at the thought of the most violent Sannin on his case. He gave a hasty bow and bolted from the office, Hell bent on figuring out training regimens for his entire class and especially Harry. He was too young to die, even if it was at the hands of a beauty like Tsunade-hime.

(scene break)

The Hokage was in the Missions Room after a long time. The turbulence of recent times meant that he was in his office meeting with senior Shinobi about the investigations and creating strategies to counter other villages when they found out Konoha was without a jinchuriki.

It was a nice break to be back handing out missions to his Shinobi personally at the missions' desk. It was the best way he knew to stay in touch with his forces and to judge how they were growing, where best he could use them later in their careers. In this manner he knew how to read all his Shinobi, from genin to jounin, and this served him well when he asked a few casual questions of Gai's genin team. The expressions that passed over the faces of the children, the exuberance and also the hesitation, told him more than their words: They were all impressed by yet wary of Tsunade's apprentice. Even little Neji seemed to regard the child as someone to be cautious of, and he had been the one to reveal the information about the Sage of Spirits.

The boy arrived on time exactly when the Hokage had summoned him. Sarutobi ignored him for the moment, speaking to teams which were waiting for missions, or just returning. But he was surreptitiously observing him. The boy was as small as Naruto, easily the shortest kid in his class, he wore a green kimono style shirt in the same shade as Tsunade's robes, and gray hakama with black ninja sandals. Sarutobi wondered bemusedly if the symbol for 'gambling' was imprinted on the kimono's back like Tsunade had on her robes. The boy stood quietly and with little movement, apparently content to watch the people around him.

When there was a lull in the traffic to the missions' room, Sarutobi motioned for the boy to come forward. The boy bowed deeply to him and then rose with a small smile playing on his face. Before the Hokage could greet him, the boy raised a hand in the air, his index fingertip alight, and then wrote in fiery characters: You are my sensei's sensei.

The Hokage chuckled good-naturedly and wondered how the boy was performing the fire jutsu to write. "Yes, I am. How is my old student?"

The boy smiled and wrote: She is happy now that she has pawned me off on you, sensei. Shizune-nee didn't let her gamble while I was around, so I am sure she's off somewhere losing a lot of money.

The Hokage's eyes narrowed as realization set of what exactly Tsunade was up to. "'Pawned you off on me?' What exactly did that brat tell you about what you were going to do here?"

A look of confusion passed on the boy's face. He pulled out a scroll from the voluminous sleeves of his kimono and unfurled it. His palm hovered over it and a staff appeared out of it. He held it in one hand and wrote with his other in the air: She said you were my next sensei, since you know how it is to be a shorty without a long reach.

The Hokage rested a hand over his eyes and groaned, cursing Tsunade under his breath. "We will deal with that later, Harry-kun. For now you will attend the Academy. I presume she wanted me to teach you how to use a staff?" At his nod, the Hokage continued, "Damned slacker, running off to gamble and drink, leaving me with her responsibilities."

The boy was smiling and laughing at the Hokage's grumbling, much to the annoyance of the guards and other Shinobi in the room. Seeing that he was being glared at, the boy wrote: She was right, you do love her too much. I didn't think there was anyone who could call her names and get away with it.

The Hokage lost his irritation at those words and a weight lifted off of him, one he had been carrying since his relationship with Tsunade had become strained. If his student still thought she had his love and care, then things hadn't deteriorated as much as he had thought. "I might be the only one in all the elemental nations who can get away with it, Harry-kun. Now, we have to set up a place for you to live, I hope Tsunade or at least Shizune taught you how to survive on your own?"

Letters appeared in the air again: Hai, sensei, I've been on my own all my life.

The Hokage nodded, simply accepting the statement. He had meant to find out more about his past but after he had a greater rapport with the boy. "Very well, you will be given Academy cadet stipend set at war time levels, which should be sufficient to cover all necessities. Harry-kun, by accepting this you are committing to enter Leaf's ninja forces. Others will have an option to drop out of the Academy, you will not."

'I understand, sensei. Shizune-nee explained that orphans were recruited in war time with this offer.'

The Hokage nodded slowly watching the boy's face like a hawk for any sign that he disliked the position the Hokage was putting him in. But the boy's small polite smile seemed accepting. Some found the practice abhorrent, they likened it to preying on the desperation of children, and others thought it was a generosity to give children with nothing else something to aspire to. Sarutobi, in his long life, hadn't decided which side of the argument he was on, but he wanted to make sure there was no reluctance on the boy's part and he found none. "Welcome to Konoha then, Harry-kun."

Sarutobi ordered one of his chunnin assistants to take the boy to the same apartment building Naruto's home had been in and set him up with his finances. He wondered if the boy was going to continue calling him 'sensei' and if he would end up teaching the child, just so that Tsunade's word to her apprentice wasn't broken. Truly, he was disappointed that Tsunade had hoisted the boy on him without asking him. Pinching the bride of his nose he reminded himself that he should take this as a gesture of reconciliation between them: Her trusting him with her disciple, a child she believed in enough to teach her coveted strength techniques to.

(scene break)

After taking care of all the logistics the Hokage wanted him to, Harry returned to the tree hollow in the Forest of Death. By now he was proficient enough to conjure shadow clones with only a mental effort. In a moment, Alpha, Scorpion, and Zulu stood in front of him, all with their specific personality make-ups: Alpha the one to make decisions on his behalf, Scorpion to oversee their training progress, Zulu to be Zulu.

"Damn, boss, it would be really useful if you could just henge into one of us and talk," Zulu whined.

Scorpion poked her. "Don't be an idiot, Zulu, how many times have I told you, he can't do that, the seal and injury are too deeply ingrained in his consciousness. Just be thankful he always imagined us fully functional, although that's debatable when it comes to you."

"So?" Zulu snapped belligerently. "He just has to de-grain it!"

"That's not even a word, Zulu. Stop pissing her off, Scorpion." Alpha let out a long suffering sigh. "We can't risk the boss changing states and accidentally letting the seal be healed."

A low amused laugh broke through their argument and they looked to see the 'boss' laughing at them. He walked to them and playfully messed their blond hair (in Scorpion's case, he messed with his mask).

His clones shot each other happy but nervous looks. Harry wasn't surprised, he had been sullen for a long time, but the fun day at the Academy and winding up the Hokage had put him in a good mood. He couldn't wait to get back to being Naruto and talking his jaw off; his younger self really knew how to have fun. Besides his blond self was in much better shape and after the obstacle course that day Harry was loath to do anything physical in his bishonen form. At least spars with Tsunade were quick affairs, _brutal_but quick.

He went to sit against the wall of the hollow and relaxed his muscles, knowing his clones would protect him and bring him back if something bad happened.

"Good luck, boss," Zulu's whisper echoed in the tree hollow.

Harry nodded and gave in to the pull he had been feeling for months.

(scene break)

A wet and dark hallway greeted him. Hot wind blew through, making ripples in the standing water. The wind ebbed and flowed as if it was coming from the lungs of a great beast. Thinking that was probably the case, Harry followed the wind, walking through a network of tunnels.

Finally the hallways opened up to a great room, with gates across from him rising so high that they disappeared in the darkness collecting on the ceiling. In the blackness behind the gates, two red humongous eyes opened.

_"Welcome, godling," _the voice was so loud that it was a physical force, pushing Harry two steps back. The owner of the eyes seemed to come close to the gates, as red fur, black lips pulled back over pearl white teeth revealed themselves.

"Hello, Demon Fox, greatest of the tailed demons," Harry said, just managing to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

_"A polite godling, how unusual, what do you taste like, I wonder."_

"I am no god, demon, and if I was, how would you eat me anyway?" Harry asked.

A wave of hot wind blew over him and on its heels a heavier wave of sheer malevolence buffeted him. _"I have devoured countless spirits, demons, and kami through eternity. You are ascending, godling, but do not think you are beyond me."_

Harry steeled himself against the choking feelings of rage and hate coming from the fox. "Again, I am not a spirit or a god. Now what do you want with me? I've had enough of you interfering with my body."

The fox growled or laughed, Harry couldn't figure it out. _"You who command the dead spirits, master of death and so liege of the death god, do not think you are a god? Did you think I would stoop to help a human? I aided you because we are above these mortals. We are kin of a kind."_

Harry felt something cold run through his veins, he couldn't accept what the fox was saying. _Him? A god?_But Dumbledore's words came back to him, that he was already part of some celestial conspiracy to be kept out of his own realm for becoming too powerful. Maybe the fox wasn't lying, but how could he accept it?

So he chose the easiest thing to respond to, "How have you aided me? You keep on trying to heal me which will fix the damned seal on me!"

_"Fool! A pitiful seal to lock the tongues of men is no match for me. I was going to burn the seal."_

"Yeah, ok, as if I can trust you," Harry snorted.

The great eyes blinked slowly, giving the impression the Fox was taken aback. _"Godling, I have been helping you without asking anything in return, such a thing is a show of good will. Why did you listen to my whispers then, the ones that have given you your newest power?"_

Harry was frowning suspiciously. "What power? What whispers?"

_"The skills of your mother, the biju trapping chakra chains! Did you think you just developed them out of instinct? I whispered her knowledge into your mind."_

"No!" Harry was aghast. "That's not possible, I was keeping you out. I was practicing Occlumency. The chain-that was just me trying stuff because Tsunade told me my mother could manifest them."

_"I whispered to you all the time, did you not sleep, godling? Did you deafen yourself to my calls even in your rest? She was my container, it was simple enough to show you her ways since I know them so well. Now you understand...let me rid you of the seal on your tongue and aid your ascension." _The fox 'smiled' showing rows upon rows of saber sharp teeth.

Harry was shaking his head as if he could deny it by just saying no, but he knew he had been surprised when he had made the leap in his chakra control exercises to creating a chain. He had thought it was inherited instinct from Kushina.

"No, thank you, you've already done more than I want, if you really did give me the knowledge of those chains. I'm going to use my own seal design," Harry said and began walking away.

_"Run, godling, if you wish, but I am always here in your mind, in your body. But a piece of advice before you go about your seal craft. Did you not notice that the seal masters invoke the powers and knowledge of gods and demons to create their storage dimensions and such trivial trinkets?"_

Harry stopped and turned back. "So?"

The fox growl-laughed, pushing Harry with its hot breath again. _"They are part of existence and pay little attention to who supplicates them when it's a human, but if a godling master of death were to invoke their talents...they would notice. Tell me, godling, are you ready to face beings far older and wilier than you in the games played between paradise and hell?"_

For the second time in that conversation Harry felt terror grip him and he ran from the gates.

(chapter break)


	15. Chapter 15

A.N. Sorry for the very long absence everyone. I've caught up on Naruto manga and I have to say I'm quite happy that I'm writing a totally AU story. Hope you enjoy and I will have regular updates on it from now on.

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><p><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

After a fitful and sleepless night at his new apartment Harry returned to his secret base in the tree hollow. Knowing he was distracted he had summoned Zulu so she could watch his back. That settled, he threw himself into trying to figure out what to do with what he had learned from talking to the fox. After pacing for a long time he unfurled the large scroll with the design for his counter-root seal.

Harry furiously studied it; his eyes ran from one essential section to the other. There the characters to focus the intended area of the seal. Another set of lines signifying the forces of nature that were being called upon. The center group of the actual sigils for what the seal was to do, and finally that damning bit: The binding seal. The binding seal was near always a symbol representing some supernatural being or power. It could be as metaphoric as the 'east wind' to one of the gods of wisdom, Omiokane.

The seal his Uzumaki seal masters had designed to counteract the Root seal used the symbol for Amastsu-Mikaboshi, the god of evil. It was set in the center to consume the Root seal's enslaving mechanism. And finally Omiokane's symbol was used to lend his wisdom for all the seals to work seamlessly. But if, as the Fox claimed, the sigils for the supernatural beings were not just symbolic representations but real 'supplications,' then Harry was sure he didn't want to use them.

"You've been frowning for a long time," Zulu said.

Harry grunted and motioned in the air for characters to appear: 'Just thinking, what if the fox is right. In our counter seal we're calling upon Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god of _evil._ Sound like a good idea to you to owe someone like him a favor?' He shot her a deadpan look.

Zulu shrugged in answer to the rhetorical question. "We already have one evil supernatural bastard to deal with. Better the devil we know who is locked inside us, than the one we don't."

Harry raised a brow in surprise. His skill with fire writing had increased so much that he had to only form his sentences mentally and then wave his hand in the air for them to appear: 'So we take a chance on the fox? What if it fixes the Root seal when it's healing us?'

Zulu came over to hug him from behind and whispered in his ear, "Then we kill the seal's master, Danzo, like we are already planning to do. No Danzo, no Root, no problem."

Harry nodded but wasn't sure if healing his tongue was all that the fox would do. He needed to speak to a jinchuriki and that meant summoning Mito-dono.

(scene break)

Letting Zulu know his intentions Harry fell into his mindscape. Some places held more meaning for him than others and so were far easier to create. The park at the end of Wisteria Walk from his childhood was one such place. Soon instead of hanging out in a sewer like maze, he found himself standing in front of the old swing set in the small park. He sat himself on the swing and pushed off and called Mito Uzumaki.

As always the woman appeared as if she had been just called from some opulent palace. Rich lavender kimono and a yellow embroidered shawl ensconced the graceful woman. Gold earrings tinkled as she walked toward him, seemingly as if she had entered the park like any other denizen of the neighborhood. She smiled softly and bowed in greeting. "My lord, it has been a while."

Harry nodded, happy that at least in his mindscape he could speak, "It has, Mito-dono. You look as beautiful as ever."

The woman raised her hand to her mouth in mock shyness; the gesture displayed her fine fingers adorned with more jewelry. "My, Naruto-kun, I'm so pleased staying with my brutish granddaughter hasn't dulled your charm."

Harry chuckled lightly at the older woman's antics. While she was cultured and carried herself in a stately manner, she couldn't resist teasing him from time to time. "I suppose you are aware of all that has passed?"

She nodded and kneeled in the grass of the park sitting across from Harry's swing. "I spoke with your clones while you were studying seals after your meeting with the nine tailed fox," she said and a look of consternation passed her face. She bowed deeply in apology, "Forgive me, my lord, I did not think of the ramifications of you using seals. I am too minor a kami to be affected by what the fox warned you of and didn't realize that you with your greater stature would be in a different position than me."

Harry had heard only one part of her apology and his shock didn't let him register anything else she said. "_You_ are a kami?"

The woman straightened and nodded. "Yes, Naruto-kun, didn't you realize?"

Harry lost his temper quickly, "What the Hell do you mean 'didn't I realize?' Why would I have any reason to think you're a goddess?"

Ah!" The woman smiled. "I think you are used to a different concept of the divine than me. There are an infinite number of kami in existence, some great, many small, some merely the spirits of the dead who have ascended to the divine or fallen to the demonic. There are spirits of the rivers and mountains, along with gods of the sun and the moon."

Harry frowned in thought; when he imagined a god or goddess, he thought of their power in very absolute invincible terms. From Mito-dono's tone and words that might not be the case. "Then what are you a goddess of?"

Mito-dono laughed pleasantly. "I am simply an ascended spirit, Naruto-kun, a small unknown kami amongst many. My service in life has allowed me some powers in the afterlife. As you know, I watch over jinchuriki and, perhaps, in time, I will come to be known for protection and guidance."

The woman's serenity was totally at odds with Harry's mood. "And why did you expect me to just know?" he demanded.

"Naruto-kun, it is certainly not normal for just any ghost or spirit of the dead to come knocking on _your_ mind as I did when I first met you. I sought you out, that is not something a lesser spirit can do. Of course, I don't know the limits of my power anymore, I have been growing since I met you."

"Oh?" Harry prompted.

She smiled in that proud way of hers that made him uncomfortable. "Yes, my lord, you are either now or going to be a greater kami with your authority over death. Since you have chosen me to guide you and serve you, you have honored me. And any kami's power, but especially a young kami's power, is tied in part with how much they are esteemed and by whom." She winked at him playfully. "Having the Master of Death raise your stature is no small honor, even if he is your many time grandnephew."

Harry laughed at that even as bizarre as it was. "Mito-dono, I don't really understand all this, but it looks like I'll have to be careful how I use the sealing arts."

"Yes," she said, growing serious. "Unlike me, you have an aspect of cosmic power that you have authority over. I should have known that others of your stature would be curious about you." She somehow made the word 'curious' sound dangerous.

"Do you know anyone who is looking at me closely…up there?" he asked.

"I do not know, I am not like a goddess of legends, Naruto-kun. But I do have a suggestion for seals. Would you do me the honor of creating a sigil for me? I promise if you use that as a binding seal, I won't hold any favors over you." She grinned with a mischievous light in her eyes.

"Ah, so, if you got your own sigil, then your power would grow, because you'd be acknowledged every time I used you on a seal," Harry said.

"And if you were to teach my sigil to others…" Mito-dono trailed off, knowing Naruto would catch on.

"I like that idea," Harry agreed, "but what is your power?"

Mito-dono frowned at that. "As I said, I don't have authority over any aspect…but I feel protection, guidance, and perhaps through my service to you, death, will become my aspects." She came out of her pensive state to fix him with a firm look, "But my heart tells me that you will be the one to decide what I become, in a strange way, you are both my master and my follower, which gives you power on what I become."

Harry left the swing and kneeled in the grass to give the woman a deep bow, to properly give thanks for her guidance. "Mito-dono, I think of you as family. Thinking in terms of follower and master…when it comes to you…doesn't feel right."

A pleased smile greeted him when he rose out of the bow. She caressed his cheek, the contact warm and electric on his skin, "I know, Naruto-kun. I think it is because of the love in your heart that you have been given power over death. And, I think I have decided, I will create a sigil for you as well, which you should spread amongst the living and I shall spread amongst the spirits. Then you can rely on your own authority in such seals where you might have had to call upon the greater kami."

Harry cringed away from the thought of embracing the deathly hallows further, but to avoid other kami perhaps Mito-dono's way was the best. "What to do in the mean time? Seals are fantastic, I'd hate to lose the ability to use them."

Mito-dono hummed in thought. "Perhaps, for the binding seals, choose only those of the divine that you can be sure you will be more powerful than. Consider, a kami of a particular forest, while very powerful in her dominion, will stand much lower than you when you ascend."

"When I ascend? Why do I have to ascend? Can't I just be normal? This kami business sounds really troublesome," Harry groused.

"I do not know if you can resist it. You have great power as is, it may just be matter of time. From my experience, it is best to know your strengths and weaknesses before an enemy tests them. If for nothing else but your survival, you must learn what of the divine is within your grasp." She had a sad look on her face. "I wish I could protect you, my grandson, but there are many entities in the realms who are as capricious as they are powerful."

Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Well, that's just depressing. And here I thought Danzo was the worst of my problems. Speaking of, the fox told me it can burn off the Root seal on my tongue and wants to help me because he thinks he and I are 'greater' than mortals. Did he ever help you?"

Mito-dono shook her head. "You see, I was a very different kind of human sacrifice than you and your mother. I did not have as much contact with the fox as Kushina did or you do. But what I have seen of its treatment of Kushina, while in the seal it did heal her and did its best to keep her alive. I believe it would go against its nature to allow its 'vessel' to be controlled by anyone but him."

Harry noted what she said and sighed deeply. "I wish all I had to worry about was final exams and graduation."

"Don't fret, worry about what is happening in the mortal world for now. The kami are too self-absorbed to notice you yet. Oh, by the way, I've located Danzo. He has appeared in the Fire Daimyo's court as one of his counselors." She said in a gossipy manner.

Harry scowled. "Blood Hell, old man Hokage can't attack him there. It would be a political nightmare."

"It would jeopardize the delicate balance of power between the daimyo and the Hokage. Fire country has been lucky to have had a stable working relationship between the two seats of power, but for the Hokage to eliminate one of the Daimyo's councilors will be nothing short of an attempt to control him," Mito-dono explained.

"But we can't let that bastard be that close to the daimyo," Harry protested.

"I agree, you must kill him, it is the only way. It has to be done in a manner in which the Hokage or anyone from Leaf is not implicated," she said.

"Well, he's too powerful a ninja for me to use any of my ninja skills. I could use magic, a curse of some sort, I know more than a few nasty ones. But if he's already whispering in the Daimyo's ear, then I can't just off him and walk away without pointing the finger somewhere else so that the daimyo has someone concrete to blame," Harry said.

"Very good." Mito-dono smiled. "My lessons made an impression on you. You are right, suspicion even without evidence could poison the relationship between the royal court and the Leaf village. You need a scapegoat."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry agreed tiredly. "I'll get more spies and have them go to the Daimyo's court. Maybe they can find me a likely scapegoat the Daimyo will have an easy job believing is the culprit."

"Perhaps you should have some ghoul haunt him, O Sage of Spirits," Mito-dono said with a teasing lilt.

Harry rolled his eyes at the idea but didn't dismiss it totally. "Grandmother…did the Fox ever _sincerely_ offer to help you?"

"He threatened and howled but I silenced him. He never offered to help me and I never required his power to fight." She shifted where she sat and stared off for a moment before speaking again, "Kushina and he interacted more than I ever did, as I've said. Perhaps you should speak with her."

Harry felt his blood both rush and cool at the thought. "I'll think about it. I need to know how truthful the fox is." With that he pushed himself out of his mindscape. He found that Zulu had nodded off. Being quite warm in her arms, he chose to do the same, with a small wave to his red haired ancestor who was now smirking at him outside his mind.

(scene break)

A few nights later Harry stood at the memorial stone of fallen heroes once again. It was a moonless night and he hoped no one would disturb him. He waved his hand in the air making movements as if he were holding a calligraphy brush. A large circle of fire appeared with sigils and characters floating inside it. The circle expanded and rose above his head, covering him and the memorial stone within it. In another instant to any outside observers both he and the Stone disappeared from view.

Harry closed his eyes and put his hands in a seal, with a puff of smoke he had changed back to Naruto. He traced the name 'Uzumaki Kushina' and circled his thumb on the scar on his palm. Wisps of light appeared in front of the stone making Naruto step back and wait. Even the small winking lights seemed incredibly bright in the moonless night. Slowly they came together and coalesced into the spirit of a woman Harry had never seen: his second mother.

She had red hair the color of blood, flowing down to her ankles. She wore a tan kimono blouse held with a black obi, and tight shorts underneath, with thigh-high black stockings ending in standard sandals. Naruto let out a breath he didn't realize had caught in his throat at her beauty. Her face was roundish with blue eyes that were looking at him in shock.

Naruto traced a finger in the air, making fiery letters appear: Are you Uzumaki Kushina?

"Naruto?" she gasped. "Of course it's me, I'm your mother."

The corners of Naruto's eyes tightened in sudden fury. His hand waved in the air: You gave up the right to call yourself that when you stuffed a demon inside me. I'm here to talk to you only as one jinchuriki to another.

"Naruto, please, let me explain…" Kushina said her hand stretched out to her son. But Naruto stepped back and shook his head. An expression of pain crossed Kushina's face.

'Did the fox ever offer you his help?' Naruto charmed his words in the air. He tried hard not to let the agony written on the woman's face break his resolve.

"Yes, sometimes, when he decided to _lower_ himself to help me… Naruto, please, you don't understand what happened," she beseeched, her eyebrows knotted together and lips nearly trembling.

Naruto scoffed and wrote: 'Uzumaki Mito-dono explained everything to me. She witnessed what you did from the spirit realm. You did this to me to keep the jinchuriki balance between villages and because of some prophecy.'

"We didn't want-" Kushina began but then frowned and snapped, "Naruto please just talk to me, why are you making these words in the air?"

Naruto's anger leapt again and he took a calming breath. With deliberate motions he wrote: 'My tongue is wounded and can't be healed because Danzo put a mind control seal on it. If I heal it I might fix the seal and become his demon-host toy.'

Kushina's eyes flashed in anger and her hair rose in an unfelt gale forming seemingly prehensile tentacles. Harry could feel her killing intent rising and was as stunned by it as he had been by her beauty. "He did what?!" she screamed. "Where is he? I will rip him to shreds and pound his bones to dust! Dattebane!"

Naruto almost laughed at her speech quirk, one he knew he had as well, but he was too bitter for that. 'What do you care? Didn't you put a demon in me to be a tool for this village? To be a counterweight to other villages? He just wants to control me. Shouldn't you be telling me to be a good dog and listen to my masters?'

Kushina read the words appearing in thin air and she felt her anger cool until she felt as if she had been frozen. Despair gripped her and she asked in a whisper, "You think we didn't care for you."

Naruto spelled: 'One doesn't curse a newborn because one cares, and don't tell me any lies that you had to do it to save the village. Mito-dono explained to me that you were willing to seal the demon inside you and die taking him with you.'

"You moron!" Kushina yelled, her hair moving magically again with her killing intent. "You think _any_ parent wants to do that to their child? I gave _birth_ to you, you were the sweetest baby in the world, you think I wanted this? IMBECILE!"

Naruto wasn't moved, her anger he could handle much better than when she looked like she was in pain. He wrote: 'Yet you did what you did. The village's power and the prophecy was more important to you. So tell me what is this prophecy, because Mito-dono didn't know it.'

Kushina huffed, her nostrils flared but calmed herself enough to bite out, "Jiraiya-sensei was given a prophecy by the toad seer that he would have a disciple who would bring peace to the world. Minato and I thought it would be you." She gesticulated wildly. "Minato was Jiraiya-sensei's disciple, and they thought he would be the one to fulfill the prophecy. But… Anyway, we made him your godfather. A fine job he's been doing," she ended sarcastically.

Naruto blinked at her dumbly, his mind a blank, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He dearly wished he could speak so he could express himself like he wanted. He could only shake his head in confusion as he tried to understand. He wrote with shaky fingers: 'Some toad made a prophecy that I would bring world peace. Like make everyone friends and not want to fight anymore?'

For a moment Kushina fidgeted and looked nervous but soon found strength. "Well, the toad is a great sage, Naruto, and we didn't know how you would do it." She smiled broadly and said, "But we both had faith you could do it."

Naruto began laughing mirthlessly as deep disappointment set in his heart. 'You condemned me to this life because you believed a _toad's_ prophecy about _world peace_. And you call me an imbecile.' His hand fell to his side listlessly as he gave her a sad look.

"Naruto… We had so much hope, and you can do it, I know you can, look at you, you're the Sage of Spirits. Everyone is whispering about you in the spirit realm." She put her hands on her hips and smiled smugly. "And you have the dead Uchiha clan working for your lieutenant, I'm so proud of you. Hey, can you kick Fugaku in the ass when you see him next?"

'You didn't know I would be the Sage of Spirits when I was an hour old, did you?' Naruto asked.

Kushina lost her smile and said, "No, we just had faith in you, that's what parents do."

Naruto waved his hand agitatedly and spelled: 'WHY did you believe I could do it!'

For a long moment there was only silence between them and the gloom of night. Then she whispered, "Because you were our son, Naruto."

'So it was pride? Just because I sprung from your loins I had to be amazing, is that it? This was never about me, this was about your stupid pride in yourselves, the power of your village, and the impossible prophecy of some damned toad.' The fiery words began spinning around Kushina as they practically appeared in air around her out of Harry's anger. 'I should never have summoned you. I didn't think I could be let down any more knowing you than _not_ knowing you. I made such a mistake. You're no mother, you ditzy idiot, and you don't know what love means.' Naruto turned and began stalking away leaving her in the whirlwind of his fury fueled words.

"NARUTO, NO! DON'T LEAVE ME!" there was such agony in her voice that Naruto couldn't help but turn around. She had fallen to her knees and her hand was reaching for him. The fiery words he had conjured were whirling around her, pushing her back and whipping at her. They left red welts behind on her body. He waved his hand and the words disappeared, leaving the tear streaked face of the woman behind.

Her voice was weak as if she had been wounded which, Harry realized, she had been by his magic. "I'm sorry, I'm not a kami like Mito-dono. I can't come to you like she can. I can only come if you call me. I wanted to be by your side. You said you wanted to talk to me Jinchuriki to Jinchuriki. I know the loneliness and the hate, I know the fear and the burden, Naruto. I never wanted those things for my child. That's why I wanted to die with the fox inside me." Her reaching hand fell to the ground and she hung her head. "Please, don't send me away…Sage of Spirits."

Naruto swallowed dryly at the sight and her words. She looked pitiful and the truth of her words cut right through his anger and hurt. A summoned spirit couldn't lie to him, he knew that. It also made him feel like a monster that he had forced his mother to her knees and call him by his title. She was sincere, no matter what decisions she had made. The fact that she had tried to sacrifice herself with the fox for him was undeniable…and finally it was that aborted act that made him take a little pity.

He walked slowly to her but couldn't bring himself to truly comfort her. She had made such a foolish and cruel decision, and it hurt him deeply to have been betrayed like that. Tentatively he put a hand on her shoulder, all he felt was cool air against his skin. "You can stay till dawn."

The lack of tangible contact didn't stop Kushina, she leapt at him and enveloped him in a hug. Soon Harry was surrounded by a warm, electric feeling. The kind he had come to associate with Mito-dono. It was odd and not really comforting when Kushina touched him, unlike Mito-dono.

But he knew that was the only way they could interact, so he patiently waited for it to subside. He ignored the knowledge in his heart of hearts that he wanted a real hug from his first mother, the one he had uncomplicated feelings of love for. He didn't know what to do with this one who had betrayed him and yet loved him.

After a while she let him go and said, "My, you have a temper just like me. I never knew how much trouble I was for everyone. Wish you hadn't inherited that." She smiled.

Naruto sighed and turned on his heel. She fell in step with him as he began walking away. As they arrived at the boundary of his privacy seal, he turned back into Harry gaining a yelp of surprise from Kushina.

"Wow, you're pretty good at ninjutsu, you know I sucked at it. I'm more of a destroy everything with my fists of rage kinda gal," she chirped happily and invisibly at his side as he walked home. "I think you'd look better with red hair, then you wouldn't be able to tell us apart…except I have breasts, but maybe with a henge…"

An hour later Harry realized he was smiling at the constant chatter from the woman who was his second mother. For the moment he forgot the original reason he had summoned her.

(break)

* * *

><p>A.N. I know this wasn't very actiony but it develops the overarching story a bit. I'll have something dramatic in the next one. R&amp;R please. Thanks.<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

**AN **I want to thank Joe Lawyer for his input in this chapter. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I understand that the Kushina and naruto interaction is polarizing. Half the flames think Harry is Lucifer incarnate and the other half think he is being far too forgiving. I hope that despite the deeply cherished opinions of both camps you continue to enjoy the story.

**Chapter 16**

At dawn Mito-dono appeared in Harry's new apartment. Kushina hadn't yet left and sat at the table while Harry prepared breakfast for himself. Kushina stood up and bowed to the older woman. In appearance, however, both women looked to be the same age.

"Grandmother Mito," Kushina greeted with a big smile.

Mito went over and patted Kushina's cheek. "It's good to see you, Kushina-chan. Have you offered yet to teach your son how to use chakra chains?" she added quickly.

'I think I can manage it myself,' Harry's fiery letters appeared between the two women while he stood not looking up from the stove.

Kushina cringed at his words and shrugged helplessly at Mito-dono. The older woman frowned. "My lord, Kushina's chains can subdue the tailed demons."

In answer Harry projected the single chain he had learned to form from his back. He caught a cup of tea in it and slowly extended the chain to deposit the cup on the table. He did all this without moving from his place by the stove.

"N-Naruto…it can help you control the fox if it breaks its word to you…I can teach you if you want," Kushina offered with her heart in her throat.

Harry raised his eyes heavenward and sighed. After a moment he brought his breakfast to the table and sat down. The women stayed standing, spirits as they were he didn't offer them anything to eat. Finally he nodded and waved his hand in the air, Thank you, Kushina, I will call you when I need you.'

Kushina sucked in sharp breath as if he had insulted her. "I guess it's too soon for you to call me mother." Harry made no answer, choosing only to sip his tea slowly. "Thank you for letting me stay the night, I'm glad we got to talk," she said and bowed. "By your leave?"

'You may go,' Harry wrote and made eye contact with her before she left. His face betrayed nothing of the turmoil he was feeling inside.

Once Kushina was gone Mito-dono sat down by Harry. She kept her silence as he finished his breakfast. For a long time they remained watching the sunrise through the large windows of his apartment. 'Grandmother,' Harry wrote at length. 'One day I will wipe out the tradition of human sacrifice.'

Mito-dono bowed her head slightly. The action made her earrings jingle loudly in the quiet of the morning. "I'm not proud of the legacy I left in Konoha."

'This practice is far older than you.' Harry gave her a kind smile.

"Yes, but the hidden village system was supposed to be a step toward peace. It was meant to protect our children. Your mother was a victim too."

'I know…_I know_,' his words flared with his anger. 'She was _bought_ from her village because she had the bad luck of being born with that special chakra.' Mito made to interrupt but was halted by fury in her lord's eyes. 'Don't dress it up as some noble duty.'

"My lord, even if we didn't use children cursed with the biju as weapons, we would still need to trap them somehow," Mito said slowly, hoping he wouldn't lash out at her.

'And that's why I said that one day I will wipe out this tradition. I will find another way,' Harry vowed.

Mito-dono smiled beatifically. "I can feel the sincerity of your words in my spirit. Please allow me to help you on this quest." Harry blushed and looked away awkwardly after nodding in acceptance. Seeing his discomfort she changed the subject. "I have meditated on your sigil and created one." With that she spread out a ghostly scroll on the table. In the center was a water lily, with mirroring lightning bolts on its side. "A lily protected by antlers."

Harry stared at the symbol, looked at another way it did seem the lightning bolts were sharp antlers. 'How did you figure this out?' he asked, hiding his surprise. He hadn't spoken to her about his other life enough for her to know what these symbols would mean to him.

"It is strange, I had a vision," she said with a slight frown. "A white stag appeared to me but spoke with a woman's voice. In my vision it led me to a pool where one lily floated. When I looked into the pool, the antlers were reflected back, seemingly encasing the flower."

Harry's hands trembled. 'What did the stag say to you?'

"I don't understand it but the woman's voice said 'That most wonderful and terrible power has not faded between us, the veils will not keep us apart for long.'" Mito-dono observed Harry's round eyes that were filled with shock. "And then the stag dissolved as if it were made of white mist. What does it mean, my lord?" Harry dropped his head in his hands and tears dropped to the table. Worry gripped her and she tried to hold his shoulder and shake him. "What's wrong, what did I say?"

Harry raised his head and smiled at her. 'It means, my sweet, perfect, grandmother, that you spoke to my mother's patronus.'

Mito-dono was taken aback by his happy tears, she didn't understand. "Kushina?"

'No, my first mother, from my first life," Harry's letters explained. 'She must've gotten around whoever is watching them to talk to you.' For the first time Harry approached Mito-dono for a hug. 'Thank you,' his words flared with comforting warmth.

The older woman got a hold of herself quickly while putting away the latest revelation to meditate on later. "Well, now that we have a binding sigil for you, let's put it on the Root seal and give it to the Sandaime."

(Break)

Harry sat looking at the anti-Root seal that he and his Uzumaki clansmen had designed. From what he and Mito-dono could see they had removed any links to kami that could be a problem for him later. In the center binding seal was his own sigil. The problem, however, was that it had no life. It was simply painted on. He could not feel any power from it like he could from other seals.

"You will have to associate a concept with it, my grandson. Every other sigil has some known idea behind it, be it wisdom, evil, speed, secret…" Mito-dono explained.

Harry sighed, frustrated with himself. Tying some sort of concept with his own mark smacked of the delusional pride to him. It went against his basic humility. And because he couldn't get over his own issues the sigil was lifeless.

_**What is death, little godling? **_Kyuubi's voice suddenly thundered inside Harry's head.

_Shut up, _Harry thought back at it.

_**To ascend you must understand your powers. It is not necessary to believe yourself to be a kami. Stop dithering like a filthy human,**_it roared and gave Harry an instant headache. _**Now listen and understand, death is no one thing, it is the end, yet it is a beginning, it is decay, yet it is seed to new life. It is the last horror, yet it's a final mercy, it coils around the soul like a snake and yet it's a release from burdens. So now, godling, think of the aspect of death you wish for this seal to call upon and redraw it.**_

_Why are you helping me? _Harry demanded.

_**I have explained myself once already, we are kin of a kind. Is it not the duty of the elder to aid the younger? **_The Kyuubi laughed.

_End, cessation of all things,_ Harry thought to himself.

_**Yes, death is also inevitable. Very good, godling. And once this seal works and you have proof of my good faith you will let me heal your tongue.**_The Kyuubi's presence faded from his mind.

For a long moment Harry felt disoriented. Like he didn't know why he was sitting on the floor of his living room with a seal spread out. Mito-dono was watching him carefully. He wanted to allay her worry but he felt so detached. He cursed the demon for messing with his mind and senses. Harry resolved to call Kushina back sooner than later. He was going to need her help.

After a few long breaths he held the concept of death in his mind and redrew the seal. At once he knew it was different, the sigil had power.

"My, that _is_ a strong seal. Let's deliver it to the tower," Mito-dono said excitedly.

Harry nodded and rolled up the seal and collected the scroll he had written a letter on to the Sandaime. He then traced the circle on his palm, making himself undetectable by any sense and disapparated to the tower.

(Break)

Harry was in the Academy, this time as himself and not one of his clones. His fangirls had tried to swarm him until he'd hidden behind Sasuke. The boy's disgruntled glare kept them at bay and Harry took a seat one down from his old nemesis. Sasuke didn't do anything besides brood as per usual.

The time away from the village had helped Harry get a handle on his younger self's sensitivity. For one, Naruto's puppy love was well and truly gone. As a seventeen year old he could only look at the kids around him as 'ickle firsties.' So it was a little unnerving that he had his own admirers in the group. He couldn't decide if it was creepy or cute.

What truly bothered him was Hinata staring at him with a frown and her Byakugan active. Once or twice he had felt Shino's destruction bugs on him too. For some reason the ANBU Jr squad had taken an interest in him.

"Alright, time for ninjutsu practice. Replacement technique everyone!" Kotetsu shouted. The young man had been a little jumpy lately. He was working them into the ground. The Academy hadn't been this tough under Iruka.

When Harry made it out to the field he was suddenly joined by his old friends. Hinata still had her bloodline activated. Harry smiled and waved to them. They neither smiled nor waved. '_Did you want to practice together?' _he spelled with his finger in the air.

Shino nodded from within his deep hood. "I think we would like that, Harry-san. I'm Shino, but you already knew that, I'm sure."

Harry blinked, adopting a confused look. _'We haven't met, but I would be happy to work with you.'_

"Then please begin, don't let us stop you," Shino, the apparent spokesperson, said.

Harry nodded and making a hand-seal that he no longer needed performed the replacement jutsu. He heard Hinata's gasp when he appeared a little to the left of where he started. She was beaming at him, the previous unfriendly frown long gone. She nodded to the boys. Shikamaru caught his eye and smirked at him. Shino stepped forward and squeezed his shoulder. Hinata ran up to him and hugged him. Harry lost his breath and was forced to acknowledge the shy little girl had become very strong. "Welcome back, Naruto-kun," she whispered in his ear.

Harry was stunned. Seeing his surprise, she explained, "You have the exact same chakra network. No two people's network looks the same. And I've seen how your chakra moves when you do that technique before."

Harry cupped his hands and made flaming letters appear in them so no one else could see. _'This is a complete secret. No one but Tsunade and her apprentice know. Please, don't act too friendly with me until I'm ready.'_

The other three exchanged a quick glance and gave him brief nods. Shikamaru ambled up and in a slightly loud voice said, "Hey, Harry-kun, I see you can do replacement without words, can you show us the trick?"

Others heard what Shikamaru said and soon joined the group. Harry grinned inwardly at his friend's cleverness. He'd explained away why they had been hanging out with him. He felt a burst of affection for the three.

There were some very good things in his second life.

(Break)

**Two weeks later**

Mitarashi Anko didn't know if she should be pissed or happy. On the one hand the mission to locate Iruka had turned into a wild goose chase all over Fire Country. On the other because she was in the field she was serving as Konoha's eyes and ears on Root deployments around the country. What had at first seemed like an errand unworthy of her talents had turned into a hunter-nin cum infiltration mission.

It was wonderful being trusted by Konoha high command after all the years of suspicion because of her past association with Orochimaru. Unfortunately it was frustrating as Hell not being able to find a chunnin. A school teacher!

She was crouched on a fire escape in one of the shadier parts of Fire Country's Capital. A concealment jutsu had her blending in with the browns and blacks of her environment. Only a foot away from her was the window to an apartment she was canvassing. The hunt for Umino Iruka had led her there.

It was only an hour later that the door opened and she heard movement inside. Her snakes inside made a cry of alarm. In a heartbeat she was through the window and tackling the nin who was stabbing her snake. She struck at his nerve clusters and earned a slash across her breasts from the man. He went down hard but as she pounced to pin him a warbling sound started coming from him. She felt her legs and arms go numb at the sound and fell like a tree.

A toad hopped on her chest and licked her cheek. The saliva left behind chilled her face, forcing her to hiss in pain. The warbling stopped but she was now paralyzed by the spit of the toad. Belatedly she realized she had gotten caught in a toad genjutsu.

"How-do-you-have-toads?" she bit out.

The man she had spent a couple of months looking for entered her vision. He was rubbing furiously at the nerve clusters she had struck. "Mitarashi-san? Why did you attack me?"

Anko ignored his question. Her mind was working furiously. The only one she knew who could summon toads was Jiraiya of the Sannin. Was Iruka working for the man? But then what was he doing in the capital city which was fast becoming unfriendly for loyal Konoha Shinobi. And why didn't the Hokage know that Iruka was working for Jiraiya.

Given her life history she jumped to the only conclusion that made sense to her. Either one or both of them had betrayed the Hokage. "You...bastard! We thought you were abducted by Root and you've been free all this time!"

The man frowned at her. "You've really complicated things, Mitarashi-san. I really hope no one saw you come in here. I might have to kill you to prove my loyalty." With that he punched her hard across the face. Anko passed out.

(break)

When she woke up it was dark outside and the air was musty. Her eyes swam for a bit until she got a hold of herself and noticed they were inside a tunnel. For some reason she hadn't been tied. A lamp hung from the low ceiling casting light on four figures. They were arguing in low tones. Anko remained still and tried to find out their identities.

One was Iruka, his body hidden inside a large black cloak. Another was a tall man with a long ponytail, she recognized him immediately to be Jiraiya. The next person shocked her. It was Tsunade. No one knew where she was. Cat had passed on that the Hokage wanted to see Tsunade if Anko ran into her. The message had been passed to others as well, but the woman had simply disappeared off the map. The last was another woman but Anko did not recognize her.

"I couldn't exactly leave her there! Who knows when Root does their sweeps?" Iruka's voice suddenly rose.

"That's your job to find out, isn't it?" Jiraiya bit back.

"Why didn't you just tell sensei you had this boy working for you?" Tsunade whispered.

"Err...I forgot? I was a little preoccupied with other things. I've never had to tell sensei who is working for me before," Jiraiya grumbled.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Probably for the best. Given how deeply we've been infiltrated, Iruka's cover might not have stayed secure."

Anko rolled over and leapt to her feet. "I'd like to believe everything you've just said is the truth but I don't think it's beyond any of you to act out this scene either."

"Listen, girly, do you really think you are a threat to someone like me?" Jiraiya snapped. "You've shat all over the mission I'm running. Don't make me change my mind about making you pay for it!"

Tsunade sighed. "Tsk, leave the kids alone. Shizune, check on her. Make sure she's able. Who knows what his perverted toads did to her."

Anko stood a little wide eyed at being dismissed so easily. Iruka shot her an apologetic smile and shrugged. She let the brunette examine her who used healing jutsu to take care of the numbness. "So what the Hell is going on here?" Anko asked.

"Don't know how much to tell you, Mitarashi-san. It looks like you almost compromised Umino-san. I think if it were anyone other than you Jiraiya-sama would've really taken it out of your hide," Shizune said. "Do you have any other injuries? Have you been on this mission long?"

Anko shook her head. "I'm decent at medical techniques. I took care of myself. The mission has been long, but I can't say anything about it."

"Well, just sit and rest for a bit. The toad's venom will work out of your system in just a little bit, I've sped up the process." She smiled at her and went to join the others. A messenger snake left Anko's sleeve and disappeared.

"Umino," Anko called. "What happened when you were lead away by the Root ANBU?" Her question halted all conversation.

Iruka looked to Jiraiya for permission. The white haired man nodded and with a sigh Umino raised his shirt. White scars puffed up in two lines going across his stomach. Anko knew them to be scars left behind by a ninjato, the preferred blade of ANBU. "Mitarashi-san, you might not know but I used to assist the Hokage is the missions office. Because of this I'm very familiar with his seal that is stamped on all 'A' rank missions. Root led me out of the village and handed me a mission supposedly from the Hokage."

"Ohhh." Anko smirked. "You saw the stamp and noticed it was a forgery. Nice one, teach. How long did it take you to figure it out?"

Umino smiled and ducked his head. "I'm ashamed to say it was the second time I looked at the mission scroll which was three days after I had left the village. I have a fair sense of when I'm followed and watched. I didn't understand why ANBU were following me so I looked at the scroll again for clues. That's when I noticed it."

Anko nodded finding herself a little impressed. "I guess Root noticed when you figured it out and attacked?"

"Not right away. It wasn't until I tried losing them to circle back to the village. I was lucky enough to take them down but I was dying when Jiraiya-sama happened upon me. I've been working for him since."

"Any word on Uzumaki's whereabouts?" Anko asked.

Iruka seemed to age in front of her. "I will let Jiraiya-sama answer that question."

"Who is this Uzumaki?" Tsunade demanded before Jiraiya could say anything.

Anko was surprised to see herself pinned both by Tsunade's gaze and that of the nice med-nin who had helped her. "Um, Tsunade-sama, he's _that_ boy…"

"Who?" Shizune asked, looking confused.

"He's the jinchuriki," Umino said quietly. "He was abducted by Root. I am close to him."

Tsunade hummed. "You're awfully quiet, Jiraiya, wasn't the boy your responsibility."

"Tsu-hime, not now." Jiraiya sighed.

"Surprising that someone could take him when you were protecting him," Tsunade continued. Anko felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as the tension in the tunnel went up.

"I wasn't with him at the time," Jiraiya whispered. He shifted so that the lamp didn't cast any light on his face.

Umino was frowning. "I didn't know you knew Naruto personally, Jiraiya-sama. He's always been by himself. I thought he didn't have any family."

Anko cursed under her breath at Umino's cluelessness. Whatever was being _un_said between the two Sannin was volatile enough that it was making her want to run for her life. The idiot just had to go and add to the tension. The silence lengthened as Jiraiya refused to say anything more. Despite her better judgment Anko asked again, "What's the word on Naruto, Jiraiya-sama?"

"Danzo is claiming that he has Konoha's Jinchuriki. Iruka just reported to me that the Daimyo has proclaimed Danzo to be the new Hokage. Danzo declared that even though _rebels_ hold the village right now," Jiraiya snapped, "he has Konoha's most powerful strategic weapon, the jinchuriki."

Anko noticed Tsunade and her assistant exchange a look of disbelief. She filed it away because she herself was stunned at this revelation. "That's not…how can the Daimyo do that!"

"He cannot remove or install a Hokage without the Jounin council's approval by law," Tsunade said. "How reliable is this information, Umino?"

"I heard the declarations myself but I haven't seen Naruto anywhere. I would think Danzo would parade him around if he had him, but on the other hand Naruto is loyal to the Sandaime, he wouldn't willingly go along with his enemies," Umino explained.

Anko laughed ruefully, "I miss him. I used to sic him and his friends on jounin all the time."

"Mitarashi-san!" Umino scolded.

"Sounds like Uzumaki had to watch out for himself all his life so he might be managing alright," Shizune said with some heat.

Anko was surprised to see the heretofore soft spoken woman look angry. That said, she agreed with the woman. "Only one more hated in the village than me is Naruto. But he's a fighter. The Sandaime is going to be furious that Danzo is using him to legitimize himself."

Tsunade scoffed. "One would think all this could've been avoided if he had a proper guardian."

Jiraiya cussed. "Why are you here, Tsunade?"

The blonde glared at him for his tone. "I ran into a seal I wanted you to take a look at for me."

"I have my hands full running this operation. Now that Danzo has somehow convinced the Daimyo to make him Hokage." He growled and then asked in an overly sweet tone, "Can what you need wait?"

"Fine," Tsunade said and turned to Anko. "You best get back to the village. Let the Hokage know what you saw here. You can send another messenger snake with news of impending civil war."

"What snake?!" Anko retorted with wide-eyed innocence.

"Huh, I missed that," Jiraiya said and frowned at her.

"Looks like that's become a habit with you," Tsunade said and waved at Shizune and Anko to follow her. Anko wondered if Tsunade enjoyed making Jiraiya feel like shit.

"Tsu-hime, we could use your help," Jiraiya said.

"I'm too busy," Tsunade said without turning around.

"Gambling isn't more important than this!" Jiraiya snapped.

"I don't want to hear that from a man who spends his time writing smut. Besides, I'm working on something for sensei." Tsunade punched a wall next to her, making it collapse and block off the tunnel behind her.

Anko felt cold sweat down her back but hurried to stay in step with Shizune. As expected, her traitorous master's teammates were just as monstrously scary as he had been.

"Your cognitive faculties were compromised, Mitarashi-san. You have been pushing yourself too hard," Shizune said quietly next to her. "An apprentice of the Sannin shouldn't have been taken down as easily as you were by Umino-san even with the toads."

"Who the fuck are you to critique me nurse-chan?" Anko said with a wicked twist to her lips.

"I'm a jounin of Konoha, a fellow apprentice of a Sannin, and your superior." She smiled at her gently. "And as your senior I'm giving you advice. Please take care of yourself."

"Girl, I've spent a lot of time picking up after Orochimaru's messes. Don't make yourself something we have to clean up too. That's what Shizune is trying to tell you." Tsunade sighed. "You don't have to answer for his sins."

Anko felt the words tear at her heart. She had long perfected a cheerful and irreverent shield to protect herself. The two women had brushed past them without thought. "I'll do better, Tsunade-sama, Shizune-senpai."

"Have you checked the seal, Shizune?" Tsunade asked her apprentice. Anko noticed the older Kunoichi lift up her sleeve to a seal that had been wrapped around her arm.

"All variables are good, Tsunade-sama. He's safe and healthy," Shizune reported with a relieved smile.

"Good. That's what I expected." Tsunade nodded and turned to Anko. "Now tell me that you have another messenger snake. I need to send something to the Hokage."

Anko quickly summoned a snake wondering if she was going to travel with the legendary Shinobi a little longer.

(Break)

**Hokage Tower**

Sarutobi hadn't yet finished his response to the first snake messenger when another one appeared in his office. He barely restrained himself from smashing the poor creature. The silver cobra hacked up a scroll on his desk.

The man opened the scroll and was surprised to find Tsunade's script: _Sensei, I have been carrying out the mission you assigned me the last time we met. Rest assured despite any news to the contrary you will hear. Do not tell anyone, I'm sure you understand why. _

His mind as sharp as ever recalled his last conversation with Tsunade. He had asked her to do two things for him. One was to see him again before he died and to take care of Naruto. Her message could only be referring to the second request. He breathed in relief and laughed to himself. A flick of fingers set fire to the message.

He stood from his chair and threw open the window looking out at the village. He felt years younger at the news. Tsunade had kept faith, he couldn't be happier. Naruto had obviously found some way to her. He had only cautiously believed the ANBU Juniors that Naruto's clones had rescued him from the Root facility. It was good to have confirmation.

His old student must have picked up enough warnings on her travels to have gone underground with Naruto and was only now making contact with Jiraiya. All in all he was very pleased with Tsunade's caution. He wondered if that was the reason she had sent Harry-kun to him, so she could focus on protecting Naruto.

Now he felt bad for thinking his errant student had been simply dumping her own student on him. "Damn, I had better give the boy some bo-jutsu lessons after all," he decided as a way to assuage his guilty conscience.

(End)


End file.
